Sunday 6 September 2009

Tomato Worm and honeybees

I took a picture of the gorgeous caterpillar that had eaten half of one of our tomato plants. Then I picked off the leaf and took it to the woods about 50 yards away and left him/her on a branch. I haven’t seen any more, or any other damage so far. Here it is:

For four years we’ve been feeding hummingbirds and orioles. This week suddenly our feeders are inundated with honeybees. The openings in the oriole feeder were large enough that the bees could get inside, get trapped and die, not before drinking all the nectar. Now we’re replaced the feeders so they can’t get in anymore. They just swarm around one or two holes. For the most part, the hummingbirds seem to be able to share with the bees. I figure if you’re small, you can squeeze in without making them angry. The bees seem to tilt the feeder so the nectar goes to one hole, then they drink it. They finish it in one day. We figure they’re wild and have a hive nearby, but there’s not much chance we’ll find it in the woods. They should be good for the apple blossoms next spring.

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