Posted on 04/06/2015 9:00:54 PM PDT by djf
Now I have (and have had it for a while) a birdhouse right next to my back door.
Early in the spring, I checked it -but nothing seemed to be happening. There was an old nest inside from last year when I had the privilege of watching a pair of chickadees raise there young one.
About two or three weeks ago, I stepped outside about 2 AM just to see the weather, etc., and I heard a sound - it was like a buzzing. I realized it was coming from the birdhouse, and thought it might be wasps which I have a bit of a problem with. I decided to leave it till the morning and then terminate them.
The next morning I went out there and discovered it wasn't wasps - it was BUMBLEBEES!
Now I think that that is kinda kool, so I decided I wouldn't kill em.
Now, during the day when I'm outside, you frequently see them buzzing around and flying into and out of their nest. And it seems odd, but at night (our nights are still pretty chilly - 35F or so), you can go out there and they seem to just buzz - I imagine they are firing their engines to generate heat!
I am unsure if this is a permanent nest for them or exactly what's what - if anyone out there has more knowledge/experience with bumblebees, plese let me know! TIA!
The mason bees are well known and reverred for pollinating garden and orchard crops , and not known to sting.
Bumble bees are not reverred so much as they will pollinate more ground crops (ie: strawberries, clover ,, blueberries, etc.).
Also , bumble bees will fly in cooler temps ( as cool as 37 degrees), and even later into the night than conventional bees (ideal for earlier crops, and earlier flowers).
Unfortunately , my expierience is more with 'three-banded Italian' and 'caucasian' bees in Langstroth frames .
Been stung by honey bees, always wondered if bumble bees and Carpenter bees stung.
Wasps and Hornets get the spray on sight.
You have little autobots at your place, cooool!
I am pretty sure that with all bees (not wasps) you are stung by the workers. Mostly.
The reason being that worker bees do not breed - but they are female.
The stinger is actually what would have been, if they were a queen bee, the ovipositor tube!
Interesting, if true.
Sounds true of females of all species.
:ducking:
Excellent malaprop!
Around here especially because of my mason bees I have quite a problem with the parasitic wasps...
When I was kid we would wait for a bumble bee to come near a flower below the porch and the hit them with a tennis racket. If you didn’t lob them far enough away they came right back with a persuasive argument to make you take up another sport
I always thought the black and white bumblebees were okay too. Until I was working at a site and when I got to close to the next they started swarming and chasing me. No stings though.
I called it in to my client as I was supposed to. I kept working and the bug guy came over in an hour or so. He laughed at me. “Those bees don’t bother anyone, but I’ll check it out.”
He walked over to take a look where I had put some orange flagging tape. He got a bit closer, and then turned and started running like the wind - waving his hat around his head like a crazy man!
He made it back to his truck with TWO big cans of spray and his head net, gloves, etc.
He came back and said “That’s the first time I’ve seen that!”
I did another job where I spent days walking back and forth in bushes up to my waist, with a dozen bees on every bush. They weren’t fazed at all by it - pretty amazing.
Glad you’re not torching them. I always enjoy watching bumble bees and I can attest that they’re not aggressive. I once had one land on my face and walk around my lips for about thirty seconds while I was absolutely still. It tickled a bit but then it flew off.
I was never worried about the honey bees in California either. Since moving back to Arizona a few months ago, I’ve stumbled across nest of Africanized “killer” bees while hiking in the desert. I get away as quickly and quietly as possible. If I get stung by one (they mark you with a pheromone causing other bees to swarm you) my plan is to run like hell as you can outrun them.
Probably carpenter bees which look a bit like bumblebees. All the bumblebees I’ve ever seen had nests in the ground. All bees are good and should be left alone unless they get inside your home. Wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets are nothing but evil. LOL.
As long as they aren’t carpenter bees. We’ve had a number of problems with them eating holes in beams on the outside of our house.
I haven’t encountered a nest of them, but I might as well have. I planted a few celosias in my front yard last year and they descended on and pollenated them for weeks. It’s interesting to watch them.. they’re not aggressive and are tireless workers.
I’ve wondered if a bumblebee-honeybee hybrid species combining the hardiness of the bumblebee and the honey-making talents of the honeybee could be developed to mitigate the decline in the honeybee population.
My mother raised me to have a fear of bees. I wish I didn’t because summer’s can be unpleasant when hanging around outdoors. I get a little paranoid lol. Had a wasp fly into the car while driving, I was blocks away from home. I tried to make it there without freaking out and blew the stop sign at end of my block, traffic all clear though, Go into my driveway and cop pulls in behind lol. Figures. Anyways I smiled, assured that he’d let me off once I showed him what had possessed me to do such a thing, as we looked around for the little bugger he wouldn’t show himself, or he had flown back out one of the rear windows.
bumble-bee bump.
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