Scratching at colony entrance and matted vegetation, or vegetation removed as a result of digging, in front of entrance; mud at entrance or on lower box, sometimes;. chewed remains of many bees in chewed cuds. Bees may be defensive.
Several medium-sized mammals are primarily nighttime beehive visitors. Skunks, opossums, and raccoons are the most frequent North American hive visitors, eating dead bees and brood remains, plus beekeeper-discarded scraped comb pieces in front of colonies. Skunks are considered the most pestiferous.
Skunks scratch on a hive, then scoop up responding guards and chew them for their body contents, subsequently spitting out a “cud” of head capsules and exoskeletons composed of tens to hundreds of bees.
Such nighttime hive disturbance can lead to defensive bees.
Note: Members of the weasel family including martins, badgers, and ratels (in Africa) are additional infrequent small animal hive pests. Armadillos also are an infrequent bee pest in South America.
Conrad, Ross. 2016. Protect beehives from Natural Predators. Mother Earth News. https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/beekeeping/bee-predators-ze0z1601zbay/
Underwood, R. 2021 rev. Quick guide to honey bee Parasites, Pests, Predators and Diseases. Penn State Univ. https://extension.psu.edu/a-quick-reference-guide-to-honey-bee-parasites-pests-predators-and-diseases
Simmonds M. 2023. Protecting Bees from Skunks. BeeKeepClub. Accessed 2023. https://beekeepclub.com/protecting-bees-from-skunks/
“How a Skunk Raids a Honey Bee Hive How Many Bees Do They Eat”. YouTube, uploaded by Frederick Dunn, 29 August 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zveDu-bIoWU
