Hi JulsCrazyBeeLady
Welcome to the Forum.
Sorry I don’t have any information about honey bees in relation to hedgehogs. There are lots of bees of all sorts in the garden but haven’t seen any hogs actually eat them, although bees (generally) are included in the chart of items eaten by hogs in Hedgehogs by Pat Morris – but forming a very small part of an average hedgehogs overall diet. It may be that if they are readily available that they would eat more, although, I imagine the bees are mostly tucked up inside when the hogs are about – but you would be betteer placed to tell us about that.
There is just one thing, though. It may seem counter-intuitive, but mealworms are not good for hogs. It is in large part due to the phosphorous and calcium ratios. If hogs eat too many it can cause calcium to leach from the bones and cause brittle bone disease. They also have very little nutritional value for hogs and just to add to that hogs, especially youngsters, are inclined to become addicted to them and fill themselves up with mealworms at the expense of something more nutritious. Because of all these things, they should only ever be fed very infrequently in very small amounts. Probably best to avoid them completely. There are other things much better for them.
These days, there are quite a few hedgehog foods available, but you can also feed cat or dog food, either wet or cat/kitten biscuits. The other really important thing is to provide water, which I tend to leave out for them 24 hours a day, just in case a dehydrated hog is in desperate need of a drink. I use plant saucers, the wider the dish the less likely they are to tip it over. (They are very good at tipping things over, as you have already discovered). They will frequently just walk right through the water. Make sure they are not so deep that a hoglet can become trapped.
Really pleased to hear you have been enjoying seeing the hogs. Sounds a lovely place for them there. Look forward to hearing more about them in relation to the bees.
