Had a conversation yesterday with a woman who told me that for a week, she's been seeing bees go in and out of a short patio wall through a hole near a drain. The wall is stucco on the outside and she does not know how it was constructed. I don't have the experience or desire to tackle this, but while talking with her I came up with a question some of you may be able to help with.
Do the bees generally set up home relatively close to the entry point, or is it a completely unpredictable thing? I do realize that nothing is certain in Bee World, but what has been your experience? It seems to make sense that if the space was hospitable near the opening they'd build there rather than travel very far through the wall, but I just don't know.
Thanks.
My experience is that they set up home as close to the entrance as feasible. They do need a fairly large cavity and will not remove material such as fiberglass insulation. So where the cavity is located in reference to the opening depends how far they are away. I have heard stories of the nest being 10-12 ft from the opening, but have never seen one myself.
The only ones I've seen more than a foot or so away is where the original entrance was closed off and they found another way to their nest. Otherwise, yes, they are close to the entrance when there is room.
PS. If you do decide to tackle it, this is a fairly easy way to do it.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,20301.0.html (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,20301.0.html)
Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.
Iddee - I'm still resisting the tempting suggestion. Does sound like an interesting project though.
You could also use a stethoscope or just place your ear on the wall and listen for bees humming inside to have a pretty good idea of their location and how far they've spread