Rattlesnakes Around Honeybee Hives

There is a man in our town who runs a small honeybee supply shop. He has been raising honeybees almost since Noah got off the ark...and he has a lot of knowledge on the subject that he happily shares with his customers!

One thing he told us was to look out for rattlesnakes hanging out at the base of the bee hives. Now, seeing as how we live in an area with plenty of Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes and pygmy rattlers, this information seemed a little redundant. We are always on the lookout for venomous snakes! But...the next thing he mentioned made me think twice and be even more careful to look for snakes around the hives.

He said that snakes eat protein, and that didn't always mean birds and mammals. If they were hungry, they would not hesitate to eat bugs, even dead ones. So, hanging out at the bottom of a hive would be ideal for a snake, as the honeybees are always hauling out dead bees and insect intruders and dropping their little carcasses on the ground...easy protein fixins for a hungry snake! Plus, its nice and dry under the hive.

So...if you live in an area with venomous snakes, take the extra couple seconds when working your bees to glance under the hive and just make sure there isn't an unexpected resident lurking there!