The criminal investigation into the breaking and entering of our Honeybee hives all started innocently enough a week ago. One morning we noticed the mite boards on our beehives were pushed out. Dad thought it was just the wind, because the night before was very blustery. Mom worried the Wolf Spider had something to do with it, but I told her he’s still living in the barrel. Asa panicked that it may be the Bear our neighbor Inky warned us about. So I explained to him that if it was a Bear, he’d do way more damage than gently push out the mite boards at the bottom of our hives. I theorized that it had to be the Skunk I smelled lurking about. They are notorious for eating Bees. Dad simply pushed the boards back in, and went on with his day. The next morning it happened again. Our hives were under attack!
Chuck Beely and Azzza Hives pre-attack.
I spent the day standing watch at our window, barking at everything that moved. Once again, Asa disappointed me with his lack of interest. So what if nothing happened all day, our Bees need to be guarded. Since the attacks were obviously happening at night, I offered to go undercover to do surveillance. It’s a dangerous job, but I was willing to to anything to protect my pet Honeybees.
Me wearing my undercover uniform and practicing my mean face for the sting operation.
But Dad had a better plan. He would set up his trail camera to see if he could capture the culprit in the act. Much to our astonishment the next morning the boards were out, and the camera was turned off! Clearly we were dealing with a professional burglary crew who knew to deactivate the security system before launching their attack. But in reality, it was just because the batteries needed recharging. So we tried again the next night and captured the thief in the act!
Professional Burglar at work.
A Field Mouse is making a midnight snack of our Honeybees! So much for the electric fence Dad thought would stop the intruder. This tiny predator would probably just laugh at it. Heck, look at this picture where the Mouse brazenly moons the camera!
Our Villain mooning the camera, while standing on the mite board!
So for the last two nights Dad has set up mice traps by the hives. But so far in the morning the peanut butter is gone, the traps are sprung but empty, and the mite boards are still sticking out. You may have won this round Field Mice, but we love our pet Honeybees and will continue this fight until they are safe!
Have fun playing now, because maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow night, but soon we’ll catch you in our trap!
