Carpenter bee nest

[Bob Wilson]

My son bought a house, and a previous owner threw an old blanket over the outside water pump. While inspecting it, I pulled the blanket off, and found my first ever, carpenter (or bumblebee) nest. Those are big, fat brood chambers.

[Michael Bush]

Bumble Bee.  Carpenter bees nest in holes in wood.

[BeeMaster2]

Here is a Bumblebee nest that a neighbor gave to me. It was on their patio and they were having a graduation party the next day.
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When I first saw this picture I thought the bumblebees on the front were decorations. ☺️
Jim Altmiller

[The15thMember]

Aww!!  I want to find a bumble bee nest!  We've got some Carolina wrens nesting in a bird bottle, and I'm hoping that when they leave, some bumblebees will come and take over the bottle.  Probably not very likely though.  What I really should do is build a bumble bee box. 

[BeeMaster2]

Member,
I put this birdhouse in my wife?s garden to help pollenate her plants. What the honey bees don?t get they will.
Jim Altmiller

[Bob Wilson]

Hmmm.
Carpenter bee = nest in wood.
I should have thought of that.

[The15thMember]

Hmmm.
Carpenter bee = nest in wood.
I should have thought of that.

Perhaps you'd like some more information about bumble bees, Bob.  Bumble bees are eusocial (or truly social) like honey bees, with a queen laying eggs, workers doing all the jobs, and drones just mating with virgins.  Bumble bees' life cycle is very similar to social wasps, with virgin queens mating in the fall and hibernating in leaf litter or bunch grasses over the winter.  Early in the spring they emerge and start a nest, caring for the first round of workers by themselves, sometimes including sitting on them like a mother bird to keep them warm if temperatures are cold.    After the workers mature, they will take over caring for the next rounds of brood and foraging.  Bumble bees make little wax pots, like you can see in your picture, to raise brood in and store a little bit of honey and pollen.  In the fall the colony will make a round of drones and virgin queens who will go out to start new nests in the spring.  The parent colony including the mother queen will die off as winter approaches, and the cycle will start again. 

Bumble bees, along with carpenter bees, are important pollinators of plants that require buzz pollination, where the plants only release their pollen through vibration, or plants that bloom very early in the season when it's too cold for smaller bees to fly.  Bumble bees can actually control their body temperature somewhat by unhooking their flight muscles from their wings and buzzing "internally" to generate heat, and some can even fly in temperatures just above freezing.   

The species in both yours and Jim's picture is probably Bombus impatiens or the Eastern Bumble Bee, the most common bumble bee east of the Mississippi.

[Ben Framed]

Perhaps you'd like some more information about bumble bees, Bob.

I can tell you something else about Bumble Bees from experience. Don't let one sting you between the eyes! 

[The15thMember]

Perhaps you'd like some more information about bumble bees, Bob.

I can tell you something else about Bumble Bees from experience. Don't let one sting you between the eyes! 

How'd you manage that one?!  Bumble bees are usually extremely docile.  If you got her that riled up, you probably deserved it! 

[Ben Framed]

How'd you manage that one?!

Ha Ha believe me it was not hard! One day I was minding my own business and ........ lol 

If you got her that riled up, you probably deserved it! 

Yes, maybe I did lol.. Take my advise 'do not' attempt to clean up an area unless you are CERTAIN there are no Bumble Bee NEST present!   

[BenC]

Hmmm.
Bumble bees, along with carpenter bees, are important pollinators of plants that require buzz pollination, where the plants only release their pollen through vibration, or plants that bloom very early in the season

Blueberries are vibration pollinated, mostly by bumbles.  When a nest is disturbed they can pursue the offender for more than 300 yards. Don't ask how I know.