Comments on: Cacoxenus indagator flies & bee mites: the main parasites of solitary bees

By: Paul Bee

Paul Bee — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:15:07 +0000

Thanks for sharing jo0ls… it’s interesting those birds are really taking advantage of the solitary bees – but it’ll all naturally rebalance out in the end; it’s what ecosystems and food chains are all about.

By: jo0ls

jo0ls — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:42:55 +0000

Well, here’s a video showing my boxes, and the local birds…

http://www.youtube.com/user/jo0ls#p/u/6/yLvIfY-BSws

By: Paul Bee

Paul Bee — Sun, 16 May 2010 19:51:59 +0000

Haha – yes, they are pretty lazy and easy to squish jo0ls!

I have the impression that out of earshot of humans they are very polite – saying “good morning – lovely sunny day for a flight” as the mason bee emerges.
Sometimes I think I can also hear a barely audible whistling as they pretend to be looking at something else when the mason bee female returns.
However we know what they’re up to.

This morning (16th May) I had a weird experience in respect of this. Whilst watching my bees on the ladder one of the last remaining Osmia cornuta females emerged from a paper tube with something attached to her back leg. She then flew directly sideways towards me and hovered by my left ear. The ‘thing’ dropped from her leg and landed on my shoulder. It was the body of a dead parasitic fly. An entirely micro-weird moment.

I will be cleaning the cocoons in the late autumn before they become young adults and with the reflex to become stressed. Good luck with the rest of your population this year. Do come back and tell us more about them.
Regards, Paul.

By: jo0ls

jo0ls — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:20:38 +0000

I’ve been squishing those cacoxenus indagator flies when I get a chance. They are pretty lazy and easy to splat. Next year I will create a hatchery for the coccoons which I will clean with sand to get rid of the mites.