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Talkback: Moving bumblebee nests

Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
in Talkback
Thanks for the timely advice. I have a nest - same species as yours - right where a poly tunnel's going. Strangely, I wasn't searching for an answer to this 2 week old problem, I was actually looking for an upside down cake recipe. Funny the places life takes us.
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  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Pictures - do you have pictures? I have never identified (let alone moved) a bees' nest before but there's one heck of a buzzing from a pile of fluff by our polytunnel!
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Miss Adventure - go on, let us have your recipe so I can bake cake as a result of writing about bees ;)

    Graceandflavour - I took one photo (which I'll link to later) but there's really nothing to see. I had to lie down in front of the nest before I could see what the bees were coming in and out of. If you can't locate them they could be underground. Are they troubling you? They'll be gone in 6-8 weeks, then you can dig out the nest and look inside - amazing!!
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I have two types of bubble bees. One with stripes and the other with a brown bottom. I accidentally dug into a nest two years ago and was surrounded by angry bees, I just stood still and they did not sting me. I realised then that that was their territory. How many species of bubble bee and do they live happily together? Enjoyed reading the info as I do love them!!!Did not know they could sting.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Wonderful story! Thank you.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    i to love bees...last year i had a bees nesting in a birdbox and it was attacked by the waxmoth.....sadly all died or went somewhere else,they didnt come back this year so my little blue-tits nested there and had 6 babies which all left early tuesday morning...[1 by 1 i saw them all fly out of box into the wisteria and then away with mummy and daddy] arhhhhhhhhhhhh.


    kate...are you bees tree bees....
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I always thought that the word
    ' climers' as used in 'things to do' had a 'b' in it. I used to be a proof reader - you can tell !
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Great stuff!

    Bumble bees like old rodent nests, so adding bedding from a family rodent pet can boost adoption rates of artificial nest sites.

    If it's any consolation, I reared an orphaned brood of blue tits a couple of years ago on a staple diet of waxmoth caterpillars..
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    What a lovely story. I never never kill a bee and when my mum was alive she even went into a shop where a bee was trapped in the display window, all the shop assistants were going crazy and my mum just went in got into the window and caught the bee in a jar and let it go, and they always seem to fly round and round first then fly off as if to say thank you.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Great story! I hope people stop and think before they decide to destroy a nest.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    lazygardener - there are 24 species of bumblebee in the UK. Around six or seven will visit your garden. You can learn how to identify the main six bumblebees here:

    sarah's pondlife - your bees will have succumbed to wax moth. Did you clear out the nest before the birds moved back in? No, mine are buff-tailed bees.

    Wildman of Pershore - I tried that with rodent bedding, all I got was cats sniffing around! And aren't you lovely feeding wax moth caterpillars to bluetits.

    Lavender Blue/donutsmrs - thank you - here's hoping!
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