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Post by flowerpower on May 27, 2008 4:40:50 GMT -5
Last week, I noticed several of those cute chubby bumble bees in my garden shed. Now I see them going into a little space they found near the roof. When I looked from the outside. I could see a small board pushed out, but it looks like a mouse nest. I saw no bees bear the building. I don't even see many in the shed, only one at a time.
I don't want to kill them. They look like the little Do-Bees. lol So what should I do? There is an older man who keeps honey bees close by, but I have no idea if he could remove them. Even if he could, then what will he do with them?
Thanks
flowerpower
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Post by canadamike on May 27, 2008 10:08:22 GMT -5
Why not leave them alone if they don't bother you!! They are not ferocious. Last year, My friend had a huge-ish bunch of them living in a hole in the grass. We watched them like a TV  ... You can easily kill them, but if you don't want them, block the entrance . It will kill some too mind you... Michel |
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Post by flowerpower on May 27, 2008 20:40:32 GMT -5
Stupid question- is there a queen in there? I think I'd be happier if they were honeybees. Though it seems all types of bees are scarce. Believe me, I have alot of flowers in bloom right now & I am seeing hardly any bees. I left the window open a bit so the bees can easily get in & out of the shed. It's a small building and I don't want them agitated since we are sharing it.
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Post by Alan on May 27, 2008 22:15:07 GMT -5
I don't know if they have queens are not, but I do know that they are terrific pollinators and genuinely pretty mild mannered unless you just agitate them relentlessly or step on them barefoot. Right now you'll definetly need and want all the pollinators you can get. I'll do a google search tomarrow and see if I can find some more information on them for you. I know that some places sell temporary hives of them for winter greenhouse pollination.
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Post by flowerpower on May 28, 2008 6:43:37 GMT -5
Thanks, Alan. I'll do some research too. See what we come up with. It looks to me like I will be hand pollinating most of the squash this yr.
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Post by johno on May 28, 2008 7:47:03 GMT -5
I was stung by a bumblebee exactly once in my life. At the age of three, I was watching Tennessee Tuxedo (the old cartoon with the Penguin and the Walrus,) and in that episode Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumley were getting bees to make honey for them. What did little johno do directly after the show, but go outside and grab a bumblebee to hold hostage until he gave me some honey. It was a real standoff for a couple of minutes...
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Post by plantsnobin on May 28, 2008 7:56:39 GMT -5
That is hilarious Johno, I can easily see my nephews doing something like that. One year there was a nest of bumblebees inside a wall of our house. Heard some strange noise in our bedroom one night, and it turned out to be bumblebees. We didn't do anything about it, they didn't hurt anything. If it weren't for bumblebees in my garden, I wouldn't have any bees. I think it really takes a lot to get stung by one. Don't know if they would be more aggressive in a whole hive sort of situation though.
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Post by canadamike on May 28, 2008 18:41:52 GMT -5
I have seen them agitated and coming out in numbers when you are too close of the hive, but they do not bite. bees are generally gentle, bumblebees too.
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Post by moonlilyhead on May 28, 2008 21:27:30 GMT -5
If they are carpenter bees, won't they eat the shed? I have a pet carpenter bee who lives in his hole in a landscape timber that the Hops grows up.
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Post by flowerpower on May 28, 2008 22:24:44 GMT -5
OK I see the word "bumble bee" means alot of different bees. I will take a pic tomorrow of the bees. But they are those really chubby black ones with yellow stripes. Like John Belushi wore on SNL. lol They are definitely not carpenter bees
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Post by canadamike on Jun 3, 2008 17:01:38 GMT -5
As far as I know, everybody means the same thing when it comes to bumble bees. But bees are another stories, there are hundreds od species of them, 250 or so in my immediate area, many of them are way more efective than honeybees at polinating, 50 of them is as good as 10,000 honeybees, who win the popular contest of pollinators with their bulk numbers...
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Post by flowerpower on Jun 3, 2008 21:15:19 GMT -5
So every time I have the camera, I see no bees. lol Anyway, they don't seem to be doing any damage to the shed. It is made of old barn wood. There may be a space where they hived, but it cant be too big. I dont see or hear many bees at all in the shed. I will leave them alone for now.
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Post by stratcat on Jun 3, 2008 22:18:38 GMT -5
Good to see you're leaving the bumblebees alone. If they were stinging people and pets I would consider moving them out. Saw a bumblebee today working my black raspberries and carrying pollen. I think the only time I was ever nailed was when I was barefoot out on the lawn and the bees were in the clover.  john |
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Post by michaeljohnson on Nov 9, 2008 1:25:38 GMT -5
It's funny that you should mention Bumble bees, as they are one of the few bees that will actually pollinate tomato flowers (Most wont) simply because tomato flowers produce no nectar-so honey bees dont bother with them at all.
I assume that the Bumble bees simply go in there for the pollen rather than anything else,
It is also unusual for Bumble bees to build a nest up high, anywhere as the majority of them build nests at ground level or holes in the ground.
Whatever you do-don't block the entrance hole with anything, otherwise you will have lots of very angry bees in a bit of a cloud hanging around for days outside the entrance hole and lots of very angry bees inside trying to get out. nothing roils them up worse than that.
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Post by grunt on Nov 9, 2008 2:45:11 GMT -5
Bumblebees and Orchard or Solitary bees have several things in common, the most pertinent thing being their docility. You have to really work at getting them peed off enough to sting or bite. It is unusual that your bumblebees are nesting up high, but they won't eat your shed. The nest they are in is very likely an abandoned mouse or bird nest, as I am fairly sure they don't haul stuff around to make the nest with. Orchard and solitariy bees and some other varieties may haul stuff for nest building (leaf cutters come to mind), or separation between the egg chambers. Bumblebees, orchard bees and solitary bees go after the flowers for the pollen and have litlle or no use for the nectar. They are also the ones resposible for about 95% of the accidental tomato crosses that occur, because they will go into the tomato blossoms for the pollen. It's one reason you save seeds from blossoms that set when you have had minimal activity by those three varieties (if you don't bag blossoms). They will also wrestle their way into pea and bean blossoms, and if you have ever seen them do it, you know why I use the term wrestle. All three are better pollinators than honey bees.
I would leave them alone, and let them do their thing. I don't think they will use the same nesting location two years in a row, so they should be out of your hair in the spring anyway. I don't think they are ever truly aggressive, but the size of bumblebees makes them seem a bit scary when they are examining you for pollen potential.
Cheers
Dan
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