Karin Sternberg had added yet another fascinating article to her website Wild Bees, where she records the results of her research on wild bees in the Wolwekraal Nature Reserve outside Prince Albert in the Karoo.
This time, she has written about predatory wasps, or ‘Banded Bee Pirates’ (BBP), which prey on honeybees. While they are known to target managed hives, little has been documented about their interactions with wild honeybee nests.
In ‘Banded Bee Pirates: Honeybee Hunters with a Sweet Tooth’, Karin records visits by BBPs to three of the five wild honeybee nests in deserted aardvark burrows in the Wolwekraal Nature Reserve. The result is a vivid, detailed and richly illustrated account of life and death struggles between wasps and bees around scarce resources.
Sternberg concludes: ‘Observing the ecological dynamics around wild honeybee nests offers valuable insights.
‘The presence of large numbers of BBP wasps at apiary sites raises serious concerns. These wasps, known for their mass attacks on managed honeybee colonies, exploit the high-density clustering of hives, particularly in arid environments where resources are limited.
‘Their predatory behaviour is intensified in these artificial settings, leading to significant colony stress, as evidenced by the increased defensive responses and distress signals from the hives.
‘While wasps serve a critical role in ecosystem regulation, their population dynamics are highly responsive to environmental conditions, sometimes tipping the balance in their favour. This highlights the importance of conserving wild honeybees in their natural habitats, where intrinsic ecological balance helps regulate predator-prey interactions without human interference.’
Fascinating reading and beautiful photographs.