Random Gardening Chatter

Hey

Long time for me on here, almost 3 years! Well, I have been a busy bee, moved countries a couple of times, moved houses even more but finally settled back into Monda life, and loving it. Some new hens have come to join the party and the garden has had quite a few changes, including a new parking area, the shed turned into an office and the door moved from one side to the other, whole 3,000 m2 strimmed and turned over, a new vegetable/fruit patch has been dug with raised beds and breeze blocks used for planting some of the more delicate plants; strawberries.

There was a lot of bamboo growing own the garden and it wass starting to look a mess, so we chopped that down, stripped it back to the bare bamboo, dried it and made a fence out of it, there is a section of the garden which doesn't ever look nice, around the back of the chicken coop, so the free bamboo growing down the garden came in very handy.

As you can see, now the bamboo gate is in place, all the crap round the back of the chicken coop is now hidden from view, it looks much tidier from the track now too - very impressed with myself and what a way to save some money and keep the garden tidy at the same time!

I also planted a lot of raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants, they are all very happy to be in the ground and are growing well for this time of year, we have a mild winter so we might as well take the opportunity to make the most of it and get growing!

I made a small rockery near my new car park also and that has made a real nice feature alongside the vegetable patch.

Well, I hope to bring more news as I work through the garden and I promise it won't be as long a wait as the last post!

Carpenter Bee (Mijas Bee) Spain

The Carpenter bee, otherwise known as the "Mijas Bee" here in Spain, I must admit it is a scary looking creature and certainly makes a heck of a noise, leaving people running away screaming! LOL

These Carpenter Bees are large, hairy bees distributed worldwide. There are as many as 500 species of the Carpenter Bee in 31 subgenera.

They are aptly named the Carpenter Bee beacuase nearly all the 500 species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers, their smaller cousins, otherwise known as "Small Carpenter Bees" - very fitting, LOL, build their nests in the ground.

Carpenter bees prefer to attack wood which is bare, weathered and unpainted. Therefore, the best way to deter the bees is to paint all exposed wood surfaces, especially those which have a history of being attacked. Wood stains and preservatives are less reliable than painting, but will provide some degree of repellancy versus bare wood. To further discourage nesting, garages and outbuildings should be kept closed when carpenter bees are actively searching for nesting sites.

Many of these Carpenter Bee species live next to one another, well the females does anyway - she will live in tunnels alongside her own daughters or sisters, creating a sort of social group. Between them they make partitions for privacy using wood bits between the cells in the nest!

Carpenter bees should not be dismissed entirely though, they can be important pollinators on open-faced flowers, even obligate pollinators on some, such as the Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), though many species are also known to "rob" nectar by slitting the sides of flowers with deep corollas.

You will start to see the Carpenter Bee in the late-spring and early summer, this is because the Carpenter Bee starts its quest for a favourable site to make a nest and meet a mate.

The male Carpenter Bee can be very aggressive and if you are anywhere near his nest you will see him hovering in front of you. The males, however, are quite harmless as they lack stingers. Female Carpenter Bees can inflict a painful sting but seldom will unless they are handled or molested - similar to the honeybee.

Damage Control!
You can buy many different types of damage control for Carpenter Bees and for the wood they are attacking.

Liquid sprays of carbaryl (Sevin), chlorpyrifos (Dursban), or a synthetic pyrethroid (e.g., permethrin or cyfluthrin) can be applied as a preventive to wood surfaces which are attracting bees.

Be aware that these sprays and treatments may only last for 1-2 weeks and you may have to repeat the treatment if the problems persist. You may find tunnels which have already been excavated - you're best bet here is to buy an insecticidal dust (e.g., 5percent carbaryl) and get it into the nest opening. You may also wish to choose sprays that you can buy from garden centres that are labeled "wasp and ee control".

When you have treated the holes where the Carpenter Bee is resting, be sure to leave the hole open for a few days, this will allow the bees to distribute the insecticide throughout the nest galleries, once that is complete, plug the hole with glue etc to protect the wood from being invaded again.

Although carpenter bees are less aggressive than wasps, female bees provisioning their nests will sting. Treatment is best performed at night when the bees are less active, or while wearing protective clothing.