BumbleBEES

[Mici]

today i was working in the fores, and found a bumblebee nest, actually just the entrance, a hole. unfortunately a few pine tree fell over it so i couldn't dig them out today. So i was wondering if any one has any experience with them. is it ok to move them at this time of the year-early fall, bees are preparing for winter-their behaviour is very different. are they dangerous? they are said not to sting a lot, but i got stung about a fortnight ago (my fault:D) what's the distance of their flying, how far do i have to move them to eliminate the possibility of them flying to the old nests location.

i really want to have bumblebees, well i would leave them untill the next year, but...we have so much work to do in that location and all, that they're gonna probably leave anyway.

ANY info would be great (as long as it is true)

[ian michael davison]

Hi Mici
Why don't you leave them alone they will not abandon the nest unless you destroy it. At this time of the year they will be raising young queens for next year and the colony will die out with the first frosts.

Why not in early Spring next year set out in sheltered positions small boxes(shoe box, bird box) Add some straw or even better an old mouse nest and see if you can attract an overwintered Queen. It's thought the smell of an old nest helps the bees locate the boxes.

Good luck
Ian

[thegolfpsycho]

They can and do sting.  They have a curved stinger, so they can sting you over and over, and it's quite large, frequently drawing blood.  While they are calm and gentle working flowers, they can get very defensive if you dig them up and disturb the nest.  I agree with Ian.  Let them be for now.  Try to set up some nest sites for them when the new queens go looking next spring.

[Mici]

but, but, but....i really want them :lol:
No, it's not that i would really feel the need of having them, i mean i do want them, but i wouldn't wanna hurt them. it's just that...this nest is probably already doomed. you see, bark beetle has attacked a lot of our pine forests. to prevent it from expanding, we have to cut down...around two truck loads of timber. this is how i found out about the nest, it's in the middle of the "action", so i really think they will vacate due to all the disturbing, or we might even destroy it, by accident of course, you understand we can't look after everything. well this is why i'd like to try moving them.

[Michael Bush]

Bumble bee nests don't overwinter.  The queen buries herself in the ground for the winter and comes out in the spring and establishes a new colony.  The rest (workers and drones) die off every fall.  Moving the nest probably won't give you a nest for very long.

[Zoot]

2 of my neighbors here in MD have actually started keeping bumblebee "hives" on their farms (both hugely successful fruit and veg operations) in addition to honeybees. I seem to recall that they bought them from a Dutch company that has been promoting them. They are a one-season deal that ends with the eventual loss of the entire colony.

[Mici]

once again bumblebees interest me, or should i say, i think it's time to get to buisiness. with any luck, i'll build at least two "hives" tommorow, i know 2 isn't much but...if i build one it's gonna be a succes, at least to see how things go. anyway, what confuses me is...where to put the boxes?no one apeaks of the location it self. out in the sun, box this size will most probably turn into a cooking pan, but in the shade, they might get to cold...semi-shade? a shade of a tree or a bush so it shifts-.-?? any ideas?

[Kathyp]

the two nests that i have found were inside my back hay shed and inside my outdoor hay shed.  both in the shade. 

i disturbed them both by accident, and within a day or so, they had abandoned the nest.  i vote for leaving them alone.  they'll either make it or not, but i doubt you can help them or keep them.

[Finsky]

.
From internet you find much advices how to raise bumblebees.
http://www.google.fi/search?hl=fi&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=bumblebee+raising&spell=1

http://www.bio-bee.com/english/bombus/bombus.htm

http://www.bio-bee.com/english/bombus/live.htm

[Mici]

oh kathy, that project has been abandoned..long time ago, half a year ago, hehe. now i'm thinking of putting a few boxes outside.
thanks for the info finsky, not that i hadn't checked out before but now that you've shown me..i see, if they're inside the greenhouse, they're in shade.

[Finsky]

if they're inside the greenhouse, they're in shade.

I read advices, how to raise bublebees in the box. They cannot be in sun shining. 

Some make nest into bird house or in the hole of house wall. They are very agressive if you disturbe them.

[Mici]

if there are any bird houses....and NOT in our walls, hehe, doubt they  can bite concrete :-D
many keepers, well, maybe not many but my menthor had them last year in the wall of his bee-house (bee-houses are nearly the only wooden structure around here, of course with walls) plus he had some hay stacked between the wall and the hives so the nested there.

ok, now i just gotta find the best location to put maybe 10 boxes, i guess they can be stacked quite closely together.

[reinbeau]

Here's a source for you, Micci.  Kinda pricey!  :shock:

[Mici]

1 and a half pair of hands, two afternoons and this is the result (i needed some help holding the long board):
all 6 together

artistic painting (mom without a brush :-D)

the inside


so....i'll be posting positioning photos later on, i placed them out today but it was too late to take photos.
if anyone has any advice with anything, you are more than welcome!
if bumblebees don't take this houses in 2 years, they'l make nice bird houses or something!