The judo bee

After last week's post about the bees seeing off a bumblebee intruder I saw another fight, this time with a wasp.  I didn't see how it started but it was outside the hive.  I think it is more likely the wasp was chewing wood off the outside of the hive as It would be unusual to see wasp trying to get in at this time of year.   Whatever set it off, the wasp was being seriously manhandled by the bee.  It was interesting to see that the bee made no attempt to sting the wasp.

At times it was more like a judo bout, as you can see from this throw.

The bee dragged the wasp across this 2 inch (5cm) piece of wood and threw it down the other side.

Then she seemed to sense that the wasp had had enough and let it go.  The bee got her breath back and groomed everything back into place and then turned round as if to have another go.

But the wasp had already crawled away to lick its wounds.

It will know not to get too close to the bees next time.

Foxes in the garden

I don't set the trail camera every night but the foxes visit every night (it must be something to do with the peanuts).  I think there are at least three individuals.  Here are a few photos from the trail camera.

The photos below were taken through the window with a Canon 6D in near darkness.  ISO 25600 so a significant loss of resolution but still worth seeing.  The foxes are pretty relaxed and often sit or lie down to eat.  The hedgehogs usually ignore them.

The fork-tailed flower bee

Yet another new bee in the garden.  It is a yellow faced bee, but not a Yellow-face Bee, if you see what I mean.  This is a male fork-tailed flower bee (Anthophora furcata).  He has a very recognisable yellow face and a very long tongue so he prefers deep flowers such as this viper's bugloss.  The female nests in rotten wood but I haven't seen one yet.

He's just as happy on open flowers such as geranium.

I'm beginning to think I should post a Bee of the Week!  Something to think about for next year perhaps?  You can read more about Anthophora furcata on a BWARS information sheet here.

Bird of the week - House martin

I often see house martins flying in the summer but I was privileged to be able to see these birds at close hand.

House martins prefer to nest on buildings but originally built their nests on cliffs.  Each nest requires over 1000 beakfuls of mud and takes over a week to complete.

The second nest was built as a lean-to on the side of the first.

It was interesting to see that the young returned to the nest for a rest (and to be fed) even after they had fledged.  Here one is calling for food

and being rewarded.

It is interesting also to see that house martins have feathered legs.

The French call this the window swallow (Hirondelle de fenêtre).  Its scientific name is Delichon urbicum.

House martins are found throughout most of the British Isles.

Despite this not much is known about them.  Because of the the BTO have organised a house martin survey - you can read about it here.  The population is in decline, especially in England.

Thomas Bewick wrote about the Martin in A History of British Birds in 1797.

House martins talk a lot in the nest, as you can hear here.  Listen to the BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day on house martin here.

Odd man out

I was looking though one of my hives the other day when I spotted a strange looking bee on one of the frames.

On closer inspection it turned out to be very strange - an Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum).  It had its head down in a cell, drinking nectar.  (For non-beekeepers the big-eyed bee in the foreground is a drone, a male honey bee.)

For well over a minute the honey bees took no notice of the bumblebee but eventually it was spotted by one of the guards.

After a quick check to make sure it was an intruder there was a fight and they fell to the floor of the hive.  I couldn't see if the bumblebee got out alive.

It is something I haven't seen before as foreign bees usually can't get past security at the entrance.

Brief encounter

I had a brief but thrilling meeting with a hare this morning.  When it first stopped I assumed it had seen me but it came even closer.

It isn't often you see a hare running towards you.

I stood still and it sat watching me for a few moments before turning and lolloping off in the direction it had come. Magical.

Bright red camouflage

You'd think male large red damselflies would have trouble blending in but these were hiding in a hawthorn hedge.