Paging: Beekeepers

I think I might have a bumble bee nest being built in our loft space.
Certainly the last 3 times I've been up there, there's been at least 1
bee, and I'm quite sure it's a bumble variety. Would a local bee keeper
likely be interested or is it a job for the council's pest control dept?

 

I doubt it's a bumble bee nest. They tend to be ground dwellers, in
small holes in the ground, under stones and the like, and BB colonies
are *very* small - no more than a few dozen insects. So for that
reason beekeepers aren't interested.

Could be a honey bee colony, but much, much more likely to be wopses.

 

Er, whilst I fully expect to get called
a know nothing twat on this one...

Bumble bee != honey bee, is it?

Pest control might not be a good idea either,
the humble bumble is protected, isn't it?

 

Not protected very well, considering the number of dead ones I've seen
recently.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, "TOG@Toil"

What he said.

Could be masonry bees. My FiL has *loads* of them in his house walls at
the moment.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

Bumble bees produce honey, yes, but only tiny amounts sufficient for
the needs of the equally tiny colony.

As a species, it's different. Honey bees are small and bumble bees
are, well, bigger.

Yes. They're no good for honey production but they do a helluva lot of
pollinating. And numbers appear to be dwindling alarmingly.

 

Do you look for them wearing aprons and flying in a funny way?

 

The first one I saw was fat and hairy and looked like a stereotypical
bumble and was drawn up to the lights, which I quickly turned off and shut
the hatch. Later it was gone - I thought.

There's a shower extractor vent going through the wall, which was
disconnected many years ago and the grill protecting it from the outside
has broke, which would allow stuff to get in. I was in the process of
blocking this off yesterday when I came across the second bee.

The second one was smaller, stumbling across the insulation and buzzing
constantly and very loudly. Knowing nothing about these things, I thought
it might be pissed off, so again, turned out the lights and got the hell
out of Dodge. I *think* it was also hairy.

There's no visible nest, but I wondered if they were building one
underneath the loft insulation, near the hole.

 

Whilst I know this, I don't know the extent of interest of a beekeeper.

 

Bumble bees are solitary critters, much fatter looking than ordinary bees.
The .uk variety do not sting and are endangered, they normally nest and
hibernate in a small hole or crevice.
No need for action, just leave it.

 

None.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique,
typed

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The assembles froup will be stunned to hear that this is not true.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

So no stunning today then.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique,
typed

STFU, you *stupid* ****.

http://www.bumblebee.org/bodySting.htm

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

You fucking dunce.

 

Identifiable by their little rolled-up trouser legs

We had one last week, as I posted. The fine weather has brought the
swarming season on slightly earlier than usual.

 

You really are being daft today. Only the females have the capability to
sting and they are not agressive. It is EXTREMELY RARE for a human to be
stung by a bumble bee in the the UK and this is almost always the result
of extreme stupidity such as trying to kill one then picking it up while
it is still alive and kicking. Left alone they are harmless.

 

And the hedge cutting!

--
R100RT
Aprilia Pegaso 650 IE "The Flying Mythos"
Formerly: James Captain, A10, C15, B25, Dnepr M16 solo,
R80/7, R100RT (green!)
www.davidhowardjeweller.co.uk

 

Are we talking about Masons or have we moved on?

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique,
typed

But that's not what you said, is it?

You said (and it's up there for you to read) "the .uk variety do not
sting". That just isn't true.

Oh, why the **** am I bothering?

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.