On 2013-06-30 11:42:24 +0100, Martin said:

On Sun, 30 Jun 2013 10:42:11 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2013-06-30 10:27:13 +0100, Martin said:

On Sun, 30 Jun 2013 10:10:21 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2013-06-29 13:15:44 +0100, Stephen Wolstenholme said:

On Sat, 29 Jun 2013 12:09:37 +0100, Sacha wrote:

We've just destroyed the first nest of the year. The cheeky devils were
taking over a bird box hanging in the courtyard outside the tea room's
back door. It would have been a nightmare for everyone! However, the
pest controller did warn me that they love the sort of humid weather
we've had and that the professionals think this is going to be a bad
year for wasps. Or a good year, if you're a wasp, I suppose!

Honey bees took over one of our bird boxes this year. If anything I
would rather have wasps as their stings don't hurt as much as bees.
Wasps are supposed to kill some other garden pests so maybe we should
leave them to it!

Steve

Out of the question here. Our garden and tea room are open to the
public 7 days a week and few enjoy wasps with their cream tea or
salads! This nest was about 8' from the tea room's back door, so the
wasps would have invaded the kitchen which is full of sugary, jammy
things being baked. Then they'd have moved onto the public area and the
garden itself. I prefer bees because they don't look for trouble as I
always feel wasps do! But even bees would have been a nightmare in that
location for the same reasons but also because people would have been
crossing in front of the nest the whole time and they don't like that.

We haven't seen a wasp or a honey bee in our garden this year, nor for
the second year running are there any mosquitoes. There are lots of
bumble bees and hover flies.

I've now seen four honeybees and two were in the house. How it is that
they can fly in like arrows from a bow but never find the open window
to get out again, is beyond us! Daft creatures!

and end up having to be picked up and chucked out of the window.

We have a blackbird that stands up against the patio door watching us
eat. Blackbirds are so tame that it's a miracle that the cats don't
get all of them.

Same here and the robins are positively pushy. There's a baby that
haunts the area the staff have tea and coffee and the other day he was
observed chasing off his elders and betters so he could scoff some
crumbs!

We have lots of bumble
bees but few hover flies so far. All this general fall in insect
numbers must account for the birds desperate need for food, I think.

Taking my wife's breakfast is a step too far :-)

Yes that does demonstrate a certain cheek, I do admit!

After somebody posted the NHM site about bumble bees, I noticed that
the bumble bees in our are all the same sort, Tour de France yellow
jersey with black velvet trousers and orange tail, pratorum,
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curati....html#pratorum

but they are also in two sizes large and small, nothing in between.

I didn't scrutinise their genitalia.

Glad to hear it - that would definitely qualify as 'get a life'!! ;-)
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk