Bees nest!

[Enfys]

so today we had the guys round to,cut our three big hedges. I had banned DHmfrom doing them as it’s such a big job. All was going well until,they got the the last four or five feet of the last one when they noticed an awful lot of bees flying around. They were bumble bees and I had noticed one or two in th garden but never as many as this before. We think that they were disturbed by the big hedge trimmer they were using and were protecting their nest. The guys doing the work were concerned as they had both been badly stung last week, in fact one of them had to go to hospital as he was stung on his eyelids. Luckily we have friends who are beekeepers, honey bees, and they are going to come round on Sunday morning to have a look. We are happy for the chaps to come back and finish the job later but I felt sorry for them as they were genuinely concerned about being stung again. Luckily they had done everything else and it all looks good. Will be interested to see what the “experts” say, should be interesting. We don’t want to kill them...the bees that is, but would rather they weren’t there 🐝

[Oma]

Are they in the trees Enfys or in the ground ?
Where we lived before a neighbour had a nest in the root of her tree , I didn't even know they did that I always thought they had nests up high or just in hives

[Enfys]

Oma, apparently bumble bees make nests in the ground, like a series of tunnels. Honey bees make nests in trees and our friends are often called out to collects swarms that hang in trees or under the eaves of houses.

[Oma]

Well you learn something new every day

[Nana]

Poor blokes. A sting is bad enough but on the eyelid. Ouch.

[Nanto2girls]

We used to have a cherry tree in the middle of our back garden.
Many years ago,we had a bees nest in it.
A beekeeper came and took them.
Then last year,hubby said he hadn't seen any blue tits going in the nest box, that is on the side of tthe shed.
One day,while in the shed he heard buzzing.
When he tracked it down,there was a bees nest in the nesting box.
At the end of the summer they all left.
Apparantly it's quite common for them to use nesting boxes. They didn't come back this year.

[Daisy]

Enfys - I'm glad you've got friends who can help you with the bees nest. My BIL used to keep bees and we were house sitting for them for a few days when one of his precious queens swarmed. They settled on a tree just outside their house, and I really wanted to collect the new colony for him because he was expecting it to swarm and had a hive already for it. But I didn't know how. I tried ringing round a few other keepers but couldn't get anyone to come and collect it. In the end it flew off somewhere else.

I think they're fascinating creatures.

[Plantaholic]

Bumble bees don't have a sting and they usually nest in the ground. My OH used to keep honey bees and they usually swarm to somewhere close and then send out scouts to find a more suitable place. A swarm is valuable to a beekeeper if it is in July. My husband used to get a skep (a basket) and shake them into it and leave it propped up overnight and providing he had the Queen they would go into the basket and then the next day he would put them into an empty hive. Fastenating creatures, yummy honey.

[Gemini]

Poor men I can understand why they were worried Enfys!
I hope the bees are relocated and the gardeners finish their job!

[Gemini]

Recently every time I check the water in the bowl on the bird feeder I find 2 or 3 dead bees I presume they go in for drink then drown. Now I am torn between the birds going thirsty or the poor bees drowning.

[Enfys]

I’ve just been out there and watched a big fat bee going going into a tiny hole in the ground so at least I know where their door is! Gem, could you put a very shallow container with water in, maybe they’d find that instead. I love watching all the wild life but would rather they were right down the bottom of the garden away from us.

[WeeGranny]

We had a swarm of bees take up home in our hazel tree a few years ago. A colleague of OH's,who keeps bees came and smoked them before putting them into a large coneshaped thingy and took them off to his hives. He had to make sure he had the queen.
We also had anest of bees, but it could have been wasps in the ground at the edge of the grass in a previous house. OH disturbed them when cutting the grass and had to get back to the house VERY quickly! We called in the experts to get rid of them!!

[Oma]

Gem I saw a clever idea last week someone took the tops from plastic bottles and screwed them through the side of the top to the fence like little cups and filled them with water and sugar for the bees to get a energy drink ,
I was thinking of doing the same , that way its shallow enough for them to get out if the drop in and they have the edge to land on
Love to see Bees , Wasps on the other hand are evil

[Nana]

What an interesting thread. I've learnt a lot.

[Clover]

We had a wasps ‘ nest in a bird box a few years ago. After they flew away we investigated and the nest was like tissue paper and very delicate and pretty.