Comments on: How to build a bumblebee nest – part 2

By: thomas

thomas — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:41:44 +0000

@Ian: That’s a good question. Opening a nest to have a peek inside while bumblebees are active in there is likely to scare the queen away – especially while she’s getting set up. I think the best way to find out if there’s anything going on in there is to set up a chair a few meters away on a partly cloudy, not too warm day and watch for activity around the entrance. Also, you could try listening for buzzing on particularly warm days, since the bumblebees will flap their wings to circulate air and cool the nest down if it gets too hot in there.

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:38:27 +0000

Set up my flower pot a few weeks ago keeping hopfull.
What if anything is first evidence ?

By: thomas

thomas — Sun, 23 May 2010 17:57:03 +0000

@Margy: Hm. I can see that it would be a bit of a nuisance to have to let them out all the time, but at least you shouldn’t have to worry about them being aggressive. Bumblebees are by nature docile, so as long as you don’t step on them or otherwise directly harm them, it’s very unlikely they’ll sting you. And they’re not destructive with their nest building, either, so your insulation is safe.

By: Margy

Margy — Sat, 22 May 2010 16:46:22 +0000

Thanks Thomas. I hope you are right that they have an alternative exit. I hate to think about removing the ceiling tiles and trying to remove the nest manually. So far the bees flying inside the cabin have been docile and easy to shoo out the door. But if they are coming back another way it might be a long summer. I would rather build them a nest outdoors, but I guess it is too late for that.

By: thomas

thomas — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:57:23 +0000

@Margy: Thanks for commenting, and thanks for sharing

It’s quite likely that these were the first workers, and that there’s a nest in your ceiling. It happens from time to time that they nest in walls, so I guess they might find a ceiling/roof to their liking, too.

They generally prefer nesting sites that have just one entrance, but they might go for one with multiple entrances, too, as long as it’s reasonably protected against intruders. With any luck, there’s a second entrance to the nest in your ceiling – maybe under the eaves – allowing them to exit to the outside.

By: Margy

Margy — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:25:56 +0000

I found your posts researching bumble bee nests. We were surprised the other night when we heard lots of scratching in the ceiling of our cabin. A few minutes later a bumble bee emerged to fly around the living room. I got it to exit by the door. Maybe fifteen minutes later another bumble bee appeared and then half an hour later another. The next morning a fourth was flying around and buzzing up a storm. Fortunately, I got all four to exit by the door. I was wondering if maybe there was a nest. There would be no way to be sure without tearing into the ceiling so I guess it may be a mystery we will never answer. If these were the first workers the queen may not survive. – Margy

By: thomas

thomas — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:06:47 +0000

@Boris: No queen this year, regrettably :-/

But I sort of expected that. The chances of a queen moving in drops significantly once spring is over. I’m hoping a mouse family will move in this winter, so bumblebees will be attracted to the nest the coming spring.

By: Boris

Boris — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:19:06 +0000

Did the queen move in?

By: Daria

Daria — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:51:20 +0000

The little bumblebeehouse looks great! I must try this