Question

I have a bee house which seems to be very popular..

I have noticed that a hole can become vacant and then filled again within half a day. Now, it's been up a few years and I don't necessarily pay that much attention to it. I suspect that some of the holes contain failed bees, so I would like to clean them out for new occupants, but I do not want to harm any that might be in there. The holes range in size from 2.5–6 mm in diameter.

How can I mark occupied holes without using anything that could be harmful? For example, I thought of using a marker pen on the material used to cap the holes, but might the solvent, even though it'd be a tiny amount, hurt the larvae?

Answer 1

To mark occupied bee holes without causing harm, use a non-toxic, water-based paint on the material used to cap the holes.

Step-by-step explanation:

To mark occupied bee holes without using anything harmful, you can use a non-toxic, water-based paint. This way, you can easily distinguish between occupied and vacant holes without posing any harm to the bees or larvae. Simply apply a small dot of the paint on the material used to cap the holes. The water-based paint will not harm the bees or larvae since it does not contain any harmful solvents or chemicals.