Poop ?

04/06/2011 - 07:43

Apologies for the nature of this subject ! Having a great time here in Le Marche, but one thing that has me stumped is what I can only imagine is some sort of 'poop' (for want of a better word). VERY regularly(maybe weekly), we can be sitting on the loungers (or not), working (or not) or, much as today, I was pottering, just seeing if I could fix a hole in a cupboard  and I was lining up a small piece of wood to see if it would do the job and.............again.............poop ..........onto my hand ! Apologies.............It landed on my hand (from above), it is always a mustardy colour and they are normally about one centimetre long, and about as thick as a piece of cotton. We see these on our loungers, our outside tables, walls, rails etc etc. They are few and far between, but I am positive they are not from birds because you tend to look up when you see one drop to see where it came from! Would it be from insects ? If so any ideas which ones ? Thanks in advance, S

Comment

Sounds like insect poop.  Theirs tends to be mustardy coloured.  If you look on your windows or the cills there may be mustardy dots and this is insect poop.    They have to go to the loo somewhere and why not in mid flight eh!   maralyn

Allan Mason (Al).......... Bravo!................That would make a LOT of sense, as,............ in the last year or so, some 20/30 beehives arrived 300 metres up the hill from our 'shack'........... We do see (and say) that we are on the 'flight path' of the bees as they seem to go down the hill over our property to somewhere (I don't know where) and then fly back over our property to their hives up the hill. Now then.....................I do not like the poop (obviously!), but can cope with it except that I would think twice about eating outside(oo-err) without cover.............as we may end up with unknown and undesirable additives to our main course !! How do we best address their flightpath (in the right way of course !)........I don't know the owners of the beehives but can find out ...... ciao ciao, S

I'm afraid there's really nothing (short of shooting down every wild and domesticated bee overflying your terrace) that you or the beekeeper can do about this. Bees have an instinct not to void their bowels in or near the hive, but I've not heard of anyone ever researching exactly what prompts them to do their business where they do it. All I can say is that, while it does look distasteful, it is only "processed" pollen and flower nectar! While the feces of bees that are suffering from some bee diseases can contain microorganisms which will infect other bees with the disease, even this poses absolutely no risk to human health. Perhaps the best you can make of the situation would be to have a word with the beekeeper in a lighthearted way and suggest that the bees owe you a bit of compensation in the form of a jar of their honey. Al