This sounds like a grass snake, sarahs pondlife. They like damp places so your pond is the attraction. The smooth snake is much rarer. i do hope your bite has healed well.
oh happymarion...'thanks' but sadly i still not happy about them being in my garden!!!! not much i can do though,i guess it doesn't help as my garden backs onto woods and a farm.... as for my bite no it hasn't healed well still very swollen and bruised. but thank you for asking.x hope you are well,hows the garden?
My garden is doing very well this year, sarah's pondlife, and I am enjoying lots of strawberries and early veg. No trouble on the roses or beans with aphids as there are lots of ladybirds. The Centre Court at Wimbledon was full of them, though, so they seem to be short of ladybirds. I do not have snakes but masses of slow worms, of all sizes. They are so beautiful. I don't think I have any wax moths but lots of bumblebees. I might try putting on the lights in the conservatory to see whether any are attracted to the light, moths I mean. And I am very well, thank you - only one insect bite so far. I have soothed it with coconut oil.
Your colony should survive Kate, but the damage is very severe. It does take a long time for the Queen to rear larvae without the support of many workers, and she can only do so after amassing reserves to feed herself and her existing workers first. The fact there are two wax pots already is very good news. You have to factor in that with just 2 workers, the demands on those workers, especially if they are only small in size, and the amount of nectar they would need to collect is extraordinary.
Hi everyone, thanks for your kind comments. I have some sad news: I just returned from a weekend away to find one wax moth in the nest (which I managed to miss twice) and no sign of the queen. My hopes were raised when I found several wax pots, but were soon dashed when I found the queen dead, a few metres away. Sigh.
Nik Sargent - It might not mean your bumbles have wax moth. A lot of nests die off around this time of year anyway. Can you have a look? If it is wax moth, it would be good if you could get rid of the caterpillars to prevent a similar fate happening to bumblebees near you next year.
Lazygardener - the fact that yours are nesting underground means they are less likely to be predated by wax moth. It's thought that the moths detect the bees by scent, so if they're tucked away in an old mouse nest underground, they're much safer than the are in a box, or compost heap.
I really hope I haven't encouraged anyone to go out and indiscriminately kill moths. Butterflies and moths are having a terrible time at the moment and need all the help we can get. I guess there's no right answer... If you find a nest which has been predated by wax moths then do, if you want, kill the caterpillars to prevent a future generation predating on next year's bees, but I wouldn't advise going out and finding wax moths. They are a natural, native predator of bumblebees after all. They just find it easier to find the bees now because we have destroyed so many bumblebee habitats.
The best thing to do for bees remains the same: grow lots of nectar rich flowers from spring to autumn and leave an area of your garden with long grass, where bees can nest safely. Perhaps we should all take a leaf out of lazygardener's book and be a little more lazy in the garden.
sarah's pondlife - I'm sorry you got bitten by a snake, but to see one swimming in your pond, do you know how jealous I am??
So sad to hear about your bees Kate, the thing is, it is just nature and sometimes nature can be so cruel. Yesterday evening I was in the garden watering and I stood and watched a leaf cutter bee cutting out a leaf for its nest, the size of leaf it cut out was so much bigger than the bee but it had no trouble flying off with it. It was just an amazing thing to see.
you cant be serious 'kate'.... its a horrid thing................i am some what petrified of snakes to say the least...and as i was bite the other day its made me worse...
I am keeping top of the garden my wild life section, I am so glad I didn't dig it over, so will now add other bee friendly plants, and relieved I don't have to worry about the wax moth!!!!Thanks Kate.
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not much i can do though,i guess it doesn't help as my garden backs onto woods and a farm....
as for my bite no it hasn't healed well still very swollen and bruised.
but thank you for asking.x
hope you are well,hows the garden?
Nik Sargent - It might not mean your bumbles have wax moth. A lot of nests die off around this time of year anyway. Can you have a look? If it is wax moth, it would be good if you could get rid of the caterpillars to prevent a similar fate happening to bumblebees near you next year.
Lazygardener - the fact that yours are nesting underground means they are less likely to be predated by wax moth. It's thought that the moths detect the bees by scent, so if they're tucked away in an old mouse nest underground, they're much safer than the are in a box, or compost heap.
I really hope I haven't encouraged anyone to go out and indiscriminately kill moths. Butterflies and moths are having a terrible time at the moment and need all the help we can get. I guess there's no right answer... If you find a nest which has been predated by wax moths then do, if you want, kill the caterpillars to prevent a future generation predating on next year's bees, but I wouldn't advise going out and finding wax moths. They are a natural, native predator of bumblebees after all. They just find it easier to find the bees now because we have destroyed so many bumblebee habitats.
The best thing to do for bees remains the same: grow lots of nectar rich flowers from spring to autumn and leave an area of your garden with long grass, where bees can nest safely. Perhaps we should all take a leaf out of lazygardener's book and be a little more lazy in the garden.
sarah's pondlife - I'm sorry you got bitten by a snake, but to see one swimming in your pond, do you know how jealous I am??
Kate
its a horrid thing................i am some what petrified of snakes to say the least...and as i was bite the other day its made me worse...
of to hampton court tomorrow.....yippppee.