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I have a hive of honey bees and noticed some Japanese hornets around it. I've heard they can kill my bees and rob the hive. Is this true? How can I get rid of them?

If they were true japanese hornets that would be true. The real Japanese hornet has not landed in th US as of yet. The hornet we call the Japanese hornet will eat a honeybee now and then, but not enough to significantly harm the hive. The only way I know to get rid of them is track them back to their nest and destroy it.

Welcome to the forum...

Thanks for the welcome, Wally.

I don't know what these bees are, (have always called them Japanese hornets) they are about an inch and 1/2 long, yellow and black. I went out to the hive this morning and it was around again, along with a slew of yellow jackets. Never have seen so many insects, if you sit and watch it's amazing. Wasps all over the garden, eating pests.

I killed a few yellowjackets, then realized they were attacking the bees that were being driven out of the hive, some robber bees, I think, (they were a different color than our honeybees) and what I think were drones beiing forced out of the hive, or not being allowed to enter.

Which brings me to another question- is the presence of drones not being allowed back in an indication that a prior swarm may have occured and a new queen fertilized? Or are they just extras reared in case of need?

I read some here about splitting hives, I'd like to do that sometime but think mine may have already swarmed. Earlier in the year there were immense amounts of bees all over the outside of the hive in the evenings. Id attributed it to giving the bees more room for brood rearing, but now there's not near that many at night.

Thanks for all your help.

Ginger

I have always called them Japanese hornets, too, but they are really the "brown hornet". tHE ONLY "true" hornet in the US.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes ... t.htm#life

<<<<Which brings me to another question- is the presence of drones not being allowed back in an indication that a prior swarm may have occured and a new queen fertilized? Or are they just extras reared in case of need?>>>>

I would think it is a sign of the honeyflow being over. They will refuse entrance to drones when the swarm season is over and there is a dearth of nectar coming in.

As for splitting, they can be split even after swarming, but it is now quite late in the season for splitting. As you witnessed, the drone population is dwindling, the flow is ending, and they would need to be fed heavily to make it through the winter. The easiest and most sucessful way to split is to search for queen cells in March and take any you find, frame and all, along with a frame of brood and a frame of honey and pollen, put the three frames in a 5 frame nuc with two frames of foundation. The cells will emerge, mate, and begin laying. Many people will take the queen into the nuc and leave the cells in the main hive, thus making the hive think it has swarmed and "hopefully" they won't swarm again.

Thanks, everyone, for the help.