Relocating a bee hive

[anonymous-user]

We have a bee hive in our garden - it has settled in a wooden bird box mounted to the side of the garage.

How can I remove them without harming them?

I don't mind giving up the bird box, I just want it out of the garden as we have young children. I don't want any harm to come to the bees either

Any thoughts?

[randlemarcus]

Local beekeeping club will be very very happy to come and take it away for you.

[sma]

Bumble bees or honey bees? Bumble bees will be no bother and will only use the nest for the summer. If they are honey bees then as above, local bee keepers will be happy to have them.

[anonymous-user]

I had no idea that there were two types! Needless to say I don't know what type we have.

[softtop]

Bumble bees are solitary. It will be honeybees And they may be swarming. They may move on.

[mrsshpub]

softtop said:

Bumble bees are solitary. It will be honeybees And they may be swarming. They may move on.

Not all bumble bees are solitary — some live in colonies.

[mrsshpub]

lord trumpton said:

I had no idea that there were two types! Needless to say I don't know what type we have.

Any chance of a picture?

[sma]

Have a look here http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/faqs/h... for the difference between bumble and honey bees

My money would be on a Tree bumblebee Bombus hypnorum if they are using a bird box.

Information on moving the nest IF they are bumble bees can be found here http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/faqs/m...

As has now been correctly pointed out bumble bees are not solitary unlike the red mason bee which is one of our more common solitary bees.

These are bumble bee nests......

Edited by sma on Sunday 18th May 09:17

[trashbat]

Bee fact: if you move the hive, you have to move it less than three feet or more than three miles. Anything in between disrupts their navigation so when they leave they come back to the old place and die. Over three miles and they reset, learning a new path.

[Nimby]

If they are in a blue-tit size bird box they are almost certainly bumblebees. Honey bees need much more space.

Most bumblebees are pretty harmless, don't sting unless severely provoked, and prefer to nest underground. But the relatively new-to-the-UK tree bumblebee (bombus hypnorum)is the one that prefers bird boxes and they can be a bit more "defensive". However if you see lots of bees buzzing round the box they are males waiting for emerging virgin queens and they can't sting.

There are no solitary bumble bees, unless you count a few cuckoo species but they lay their eggs in established colonies.

Edited by Nimby on Sunday 18th May 11:47

[ben5732]

Bumblebees will die out if you touch their nest or relocate it 0 chance of survival, they cannot be kept by bee keepers. If you can leave them to it do so, they are really docile. (Fathers a bee keeper hence the knowledge)

[ben5732]

Also regarding the kids chances of being stung by a bumblebee are seriously slim you can literally go up and poke them (wouldn't advise it obviously) and they generally will just fly away. Honey bees are the ones who will sting if threatened.

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for all the replies

Ive done a bit of searching and they are infact bumble bees and not honey bees.

They are chubby, fluffy and have less pronounced stripes, more like a fade from block to gold.

We have been in the back garden all day and the bees have been no trouble, just one or two buzzing around the bird house entrance.

Theres no way I want them to be harmed so I have decided to just let them be (or bee?) for the moment

Thanks again

[Nimby]

ben5732 said:

Bumblebees will die out if you touch their nest or relocate it 0 chance of survival

For ground-nesting bumblebees yes, but not tree bumblebees in nest boxes. We rescued several when we were honeybee swarm coordinators and all survived in our garden. You use the same trick as with honeybees if you have to move them less than three miles or so - put lots of obstacles across the entrance hole for a few days so they have to work their way out slowly - they realise something has changed an reorient themselves to the new location rather than returning to the old site.

[Nightmare]

lord trumpton said:

Thanks for all the replies

Ive done a bit of searching and they are infact bumble bees and not honey bees.

They are chubby, fluffy and have less pronounced stripes, more like a fade from block to gold.

We have been in the back garden all day and the bees have been no trouble, just one or two buzzing around the bird house entrance.

Theres no way I want them to be harmed so I have decided to just let them be (or bee?) for the moment

Thanks again

top man! I was hoping this would be the result.

Bumblebees are very cool. Get your kids to grow some sunflowers and then they get the (clear memory to this day) joy of watching drunk bumblebees. I never knew a bee could fall over but they can!

[Jasandjules]

Well done fella!

[951TSE]

ben5732 said:

Also regarding the kids chances of being stung by a bumblebee are seriously slim you can literally go up and poke them (wouldn't advise it obviously) and they generally will just fly away. Honey bees are the ones who will sting if threatened.

The best way to avoid being stung though is to not threaten them. Teach your children to observe bees with their hands in their pockets, don't swipe your hands at them they won't feel threatened and sting, however they will come and check you out, may be hover in front of you and look at you for a few moments before flying off. One word of warning though, honey bees don't seem to like the colour black, avoid being near them in black clothes.

[Nimby]

ps Mrs N adds - if you don't want bumblebees in your nest boxes next year then empty them out once the birds have finished breeding. Bumblebees only occupy boxes that contain old bird (or mouse!) nesting material, never empty ones.

[anonymous-user]

Well the bumble bee's are behaving themselves quite well - just buzzing around the nest entrance and keeping themselves to themselves.

We are having some building work done at the moment and the builders are moaning about the bees

Iv'e told them to stop being soft and crack on

I'll take a few pics of the bees and post them up when I get a minute