Cavity-borne Rigidoporus ulmarius

[David Humphries]

Trees and bees eh

 

 

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/ecology/76653-fungal-induced-habitat.html

 

 

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[Kveldssanger]

Cool thread, there! I wonder if bees would prefer a brown rot over a white rot, given the lower moisture levels of the wood?

[David Humphries]

I think they do, more often I see them associating with either fistulina/Laetiporus or Phaeolus in pines and cedars.

 

 

 

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[Kveldssanger]

How do you find park users react to bee nests at the Heath, out of interest? Do you manage trees with nests in prominent areas, or try to isolate them to less 'trafficked' zones?

[David Humphries]

More concerned with hornet nests tbh (and wasps)

 

Some hives in and around the Heath which lead to the occasional swarm, but we just get the bee keepers in to help tuck them to bed

 

 

 

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[Jake Andrews]

It's still anecdotal, as this tree could stay standing for another ten years. However, this new windthrow has caused residents to get worried yet further, and I think it's probably best to just remove the risk almost fully. Very boggy down there today after all the rain as well, so perhaps the moist conditions didn't help with regards to decay and so on. Thinking of putting some alders in there, to plant around a willow that also fell a few years back and is now colonised by a nice load of Ganoderma - I hope this fallen pop will go the same way, and that the bees make good use of it for at least this year. I really was panicking that the bees had lost their home, though they were still flying around the tree and going into the stem with as much grace as they were when it was still standing. Hardy fellas!

 

From a legal prospective, do the bees pose much risk to the public at low level I.e exploring kids?

Here's a beech I conducted a climbing inspection on 4 weeks ago. Thought the hive was inactive until I poked a stick into the cavity to find the depth of it.

1 emergency decent later..............

[Gary Prentice]

Have you read glyn Percival's article in the last journal? I read it yesterday and wonder if there's a link between the soil moisture and the decay in that many trees!