Bumblebee nest?
Bumblebee season starts in spring when the queens emerge from hibernation to look for food and shelter.
At this time they can often be seen investigating a variety of different places for potential nesting sites. Some nest underground, in places such as abandoned rodent holes, under sheds or under garden decking. Others nest above ground in thick grass or compost heaps, while some make nests high up in bird boxes, hollowed trees, or roof eaves. The colony will live in the nest for a few months before dying off naturally, in most places they only last until the end of summer. Some bumblebees have a second nesting season within the same year, with these nests ending in autumn.
If you have Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) nesting in a bird box or your roof eaves you may see large groups of bees flying around the nest in the summer. This is not a ‘swarm’- it is known as a ‘drone cloud’ which is a group of male bees competing with each other for a chance to mate with a new queen as she emerges from the nest. Although this can look intimidating, male bees cannot sting and this is nothing to be concerned about.
(Bombus hypnorum)
Tree bumblebees are now one of our most common species; they are urban nesters and will readily nest in bird boxes and roof eaves.
What to do if you find a nest
If you find a bumblebee nest, consider yourself very lucky! Not everyone gets the chance to see a living, working bumblebee colony. Thankfully bumblebees are not aggressive and will quietly go about their lives looking for flowers to forage on, pollinating our crops and wildflowers as they do so.
• If you are lucky enough to find a nest, do not disturb it, and they won’t disturb you either!
• Don’t get too close and avoid breathing on the nest.
• If bumblebees are nesting in or on your house - you can rest assured they do not cause structural damage and do not bore holes or chew through wood.
• If bumblebees have nested in your roof space or cavity wall and you’d rather not have another nest next year, wait for the autumn when the nest is empty and block the entrance hole, to prevent a new queen from finding the same hole again.
• Make sure to provide plenty of bee-friendly plants to help the colony throughout its life-cycle.
Remember . . .
Bumblebee colonies don’t last long and all of the bees die off naturally within a couple of months, except for the new queens which find a place to hibernate elsewhere in the soil – ready to start next year’s colonies. Occasionally, some bumblebees have a second nest in the same year, but all nests are empty by late autumn.
Bumblebee season starts in spring when the queens emerge from hibernation to look for food and shelter.
At this time they can often be seen investigating a variety of different places for potential nesting sites. Some nest underground, in places such as abandoned rodent holes, under sheds or under garden decking. Others nest above ground in thick grass or compost heaps, while some make nests high up in bird boxes, hollowed trees, or roof eaves. The colony will live in the nest for a few months before dying off naturally, in most places they only last until the end of summer. Some bumblebees have a second nesting season within the same year, with these nests ending in autumn.
If you have Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) nesting in a bird box or your roof eaves you may see large groups of bees flying around the nest in the summer. This is not a ‘swarm’- it is known as a ‘drone cloud’ which is a group of male bees competing with each other for a chance to mate with a new queen as she emerges from the nest. Although this can look intimidating, male bees cannot sting and this is nothing to be concerned about.
(Bombus hypnorum)
Tree bumblebees are now one of our most common species; they are urban nesters and will readily nest in bird boxes and roof eaves.
What to do if you find a nest
If you find a bumblebee nest, consider yourself very lucky! Not everyone gets the chance to see a living, working bumblebee colony. Thankfully bumblebees are not aggressive and will quietly go about their lives looking for flowers to forage on, pollinating our crops and wildflowers as they do so.
• If you are lucky enough to find a nest, do not disturb it, and they won’t disturb you either!
• Don’t get too close and avoid breathing on the nest.
• If bumblebees are nesting in or on your house - you can rest assured they do not cause structural damage and do not bore holes or chew through wood.
• If bumblebees have nested in your roof space or cavity wall and you’d rather not have another nest next year, wait for the autumn when the nest is empty and block the entrance hole, to prevent a new queen from finding the same hole again.
• Make sure to provide plenty of bee-friendly plants to help the colony throughout its life-cycle.
Remember . . .
Bumblebee colonies don’t last long and all of the bees die off naturally within a couple of months, except for the new queens which find a place to hibernate elsewhere in the soil – ready to start next year’s colonies. Occasionally, some bumblebees have a second nest in the same year, but all nests are empty by late autumn.