bumble bee nest

[muffin]

I have a corner of my small garden which is very overrun with weeds - when I went to sort it out this afternoon I found nest of bumble bees in a hole under the concrete path. I will leave them alone, after reading advice on this site. However I wondered if it was safe to continue weeding? The weeds are waist high and I want to plant some flowers, but am afraid that the weeds might be food for the bees and also I might get stung! I would really appreciate some advice :)

[Chris]

I don't think you have even a hint of a problem.

Even while working on a warm day and when the bees are flying, I don't think they would bother you. To get a bumble bee to sting you would have to grab one in your hand and squash it.

If you are a little concerned, maybe do your gardening early or late, or when it is raining a little. At such times the bees will not be too active.

Changing the vegetation around the hole to their nest might confuse them a little and might make their return home less straightforward. You could try placing some kind of marker near to the entrance hole, like a white stone or golf ball or something.

[muffin]

Thanks very much for your advice. I've just been out watching them, they are absolutely fascinating and you are right - even though I was standing very close to their nest they couldn't have been less interested in me. They are very big, mostly dark but with a pale yellow ring and a whitish tail

[looi]

Hi there,

I've just joined this thread, so apologies if my posting is a little out of sequence...

We have recently discovered a swarm of bees which appear to be nesting in the cavity wall of our flat, having worked their way in through holes in the mortar surrounding the brickwork on the outside of our building. Initially I thought they were masonry bees, but having had a closer look, I'm not sure, as they look very much like bumblebees, as they have a striped body and a white bottom - some of them have substantial amounts on pollen attached to their legs too. We have attempted to plug the holes in the brickwork with bluetack, as a very temporary attempt at preventing them entering into the cavity wall, but this has proved futile, as they simply eat their way through the bluetack , (please see attached photo, taken today).

As bees are becoming more endangered, we don't want to destroy them, but rather we are hoping for a way to remove them without having to kill them. As we are not the freeholder of the building (we live in a flat) I have contacted our managing agents to see where liability lies for removing the bees, but I would be grateful for anyone's advices, and also, if possible, your confirmation as to what type of bees they are. For your information, we live just off Brick Lane in East London.

Many thanks.

[Richard Bache]

Hi Looi!
Yes, you are right, they are bumblebees of the 'white-tail' variety (there are several species which are difficult to distinguish, all with white tails like this). I personally would leave them alone: the nest is only annual (they will vacate it by the end of the year) and bumblebees are fairly harmless (unless you sit on them!). They will not be doing any structural damage to the wall. Removing them from the wall seems like a lot of work for very little benefit, so I would honestly leave them, remove the blu-tac and enjoy their prescence!

The Bumblebee conservation trust are conducting some research on the location of bumblebee nests, so if you want to help bumblebees further you could let them know about this one (see http://www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk/surveys.htm ):)

[Tony_B]

Hi there,

I've just joined this thread, so apologies if my posting is a little out of sequence...

We have recently discovered a swarm of bees which appear to be nesting in the cavity wall of our flat, having worked their way in through holes in the mortar surrounding the brickwork on the outside of our building. Initially I thought they were masonry bees, but having had a closer look, I'm not sure, as they look very much like bumblebees, as they have a striped body and a white bottom - some of them have substantial amounts on pollen attached to their legs too. We have attempted to plug the holes in the brickwork with bluetack, as a very temporary attempt at preventing them entering into the cavity wall, but this has proved futile, as they simply eat their way through the bluetack , (please see attached photo, taken today).

As bees are becoming more endangered, we don't want to destroy them, but rather we are hoping for a way to remove them without having to kill them. As we are not the freeholder of the building (we live in a flat) I have contacted our managing agents to see where liability lies for removing the bees, but I would be grateful for anyone's advices, and also, if possible, your confirmation as to what type of bees they are. For your information, we live just off Brick Lane in East London.

Many thanks.

Hi Looi

Yes, you're correct, they are Bumble bees and they are becoming rarer. If they're not causing you any problems I would just let them go about their business.

As has been mentioned earlier in this thread they are really passive insects. They will do absolutely no damage to the structure of the building and will die off as winter approaches.

I can guarantee if the landlord gets someone in to 'remove' them they won't be thinking about conservation! The cost would be prohibitive and to be honest even if someone were to get access to the nest, there's every likelihood that they wouldn't survive the move.

I've been fortunate this year to have a colony start up about three feet from my Conservatory door and they are no trouble whatsoever.

Regards


Tony

[looi]

Thank you very much for your replies and helpful advice. I've removed the bluetack and the bumblebees are now happily going about their business. I'll complete the online bee survey to let them know where our nest is and we'll get the mortar repaired in the autumn, once the bees have gone.

[G4WIL]

Good on Yer Lass !! :cool:
All advice given is valid, the bees will leave in Autumn as stated, meanwhile; enjoy their comings and goings:).
Why not try to identify the flowers they have been "working", by the colour of their pollen loads ? ;).

John Wilkinson