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Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:14 pm
by Gavin Duffy
Bimboc69 wrote:A fecking huge colony have decided to make up home in between my cavity walls at.
Nice to see my home turned into a defacto apiary for Bumble Bees.

Not too bothered obviously and it's great to see lots of birds and bees in the garden atm.
Well, as long as the only hole is thought the outside leaf.

Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:25 pm
by Gavin Duffy
If it's a new colony the queen might be there for 3 or 4 years :P

Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:38 pm
by Flyin Ryan
Call a local beekeeper and they'll take it and setup the colony elsewhere.

Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:47 pm
by puku
Speaking of bumble bees, I think this article describing research showing that bumble bees can stimulate flowering in plants is cool.

Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:49 pm
by sonic_attack
I remember grandad taking care of a few stray hives on the farm. Sandals, shorts, short sleeve shirt, a netted hood and a smoker only. Pretty masterful.

Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:50 pm
by Lobby
Image

Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:04 pm
by Gavin Duffy
Lobby wrote:Image
Now you've gone and done it :lol:

Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 10:27 pm
by nuffsaid
You need to ID the type of bee (Bumble Bee, Honey Bee, Solitary Bee etc.) They all behave differently. Some swarm, some don’t. Some will go away in a few weeks. Some won’t. Don’t hurt them :x

Re: Bees

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:12 pm
by happyhooker
Flyin Ryan wrote:Call a local beekeeper and they'll take it and setup the colony elsewhere.
This. They can cause structural damage

Edit, see that's bee(n) covered much more dramatically

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 8:11 am
by handyman
Yes!

Love steak.

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 8:56 am
by earl the beaver
Image

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:07 am
by blackblackblack
Invest in a proper hive and see if you can convince them to take up residence. Your own wee honey source could be worth it.

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:13 am
by bobbity
I don't think you've said the word bumble enough times, c69.

We've got a colony of bees taken up residence in an old birdbox in our plum tree. Not honeybees or bumblebees either, haven't identified yet.

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:20 am
by nuffsaid
If they are Bumble Bees as the OP says they do not store honey as such. And afaik, beekeepers will not collect Bumble Bees for you in the same way as they would gladly collect a swarm of Honey Bees.

It’s worth repeating that it’s important to know what type of bees you are dealing with before deciding whether you have a problem. Often it’s males flying about hoping to mate with a queen when she emerges and they will clear off in a few weeks. It’s worth checking if bees are constantly entering and leaving an opening or just flying around.

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:24 am
by Lobby
This might help:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2 ... in-the-uk/

We've got a mixture of bumblebees, mason bees and leafcutter bees in our garden at the moment, but no honeybees as far as I can see.

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 10:30 am
by Azlan Roar
Lobby wrote:This might help:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2 ... in-the-uk/

We've got a mixture of bumblebees, mason bees and leafcutter bees in our garden at the moment, but no honeybees as far as I can see.
:thumbup:

turns out the mining bees in our garden are Ashy Mining bees - thanks for the link :thumbup:

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 10:34 am
by feckwanker
Had a hive in our roof last year. Thankfully they seemed to have moved off this year. Heaps of them about the place. The real danger is that wasps will try take over the hive.

Builder is currently in the process of replacing the front roof of the house - can't wait until he finds it.

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 10:36 am
by hermie
A load of clover appeared in the garden this summer and with it tonnes of honey bees. The missus already got stung stepping on one (it's hard not to). Great to see though.

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 4:35 pm
by Biffer29
happyhooker wrote:
Flyin Ryan wrote:Call a local beekeeper and they'll take it and setup the colony elsewhere.
This. They can cause structural damage

Edit, see that's bee(n) covered much more dramatically
A beekeeper won't be interested in bumblebees.

Re: Bees

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 11:05 pm
by jezzer
We've had a honeybee hive in the cavity blocks of the garage for 4 yrs. Prob a lot of honey in there at this stage.

They get a bit aggressive at around 6pm in the summer, when they seem to be swarming back to the hive. Been stung a couple of times. Best to keep your distance.