A range of smaller animals take an interest in bees or in hives. Most cause negligible damage, and their reputation exceeds their effect.

What they do

• Lizards and similar animals: Wait near the entrance and take individual bees
• Amphibians: Take bees at water sources and at ground-level entrances
• Spiders: Webs near the entrance catch flying bees
• Ants: Attracted by syrup and by weak colonies

The real effect

The number taken is small beside a strong colony's normal daily losses. The colony absorbs it.

Where these animals become a genuine problem is with weak colonies and nucs, particularly mating units, where every bee counts and where a queen returning from a mating flight can be taken.

Ants — the one worth attention

Ants are the most frequent nuisance of this group. They come for syrup, for stores and for weak colonies.

• Keep hive stands clear of vegetation that bridges to the hive
• Do not spill syrup; feed inside the hive
• Water barriers under stand legs work where ants persist
• A strong colony deals with them itself

The general measures

• Keep colonies strong; this covers almost all of them
• Raise hives off the ground
• Keep the site clear of spilt honey and extraction waste
• Clear vegetation around and beneath hives
• Protect mating nuclei particularly, as they are the vulnerable units

What not to do

Insecticides near hives are not an option; what kills the pest kills the bees. Non-selective traps catch pollinators alongside the target.

Many of these animals are protected, and most perform useful roles in the ecosystem.

Keeping perspective

This group belongs low on the list of causes of colony loss. Before attributing a weak colony to a lizard at the entrance, check Varroa, the queen, the stores and the moisture in the hive.

The answer is almost always among those four.