Identify the bees in my walls?
Discussion
davidspooner said:
Any more info about them?
I was quite worried about them so did a bit of research, apparently they don't make holes just use existing ones, they seem to be hugely important for the garden and they're extremely passive, I had some land on me and they allow you to pick them up and move them.You can make a more attractive home for them by drilling holes in wood or making a home using hollow bamboo stacked up.
Sheets Tabuer said:
I was quite worried about them so did a bit of research, apparently they don't make holes just use existing ones, they seem to be hugely important for the garden and they're extremely passive, I had some land on me and they allow you to pick them up and move them.
You can make a more attractive home for them by drilling holes in wood or making a home using hollow bamboo stacked up.
The one we appear to have went into an existing hole in a cemented rockery, so that makes sense. You can make a more attractive home for them by drilling holes in wood or making a home using hollow bamboo stacked up.
Yep definitely a Masonry bee part of a collective of bees called solitary bees, completely harmless!
As the name suggested they live single lives so no nest hive or colony to worry about!!
What they will do is keep coming back every year, so if the holes get too bad the only way to get rid of them is to re point.
Hth
As the name suggested they live single lives so no nest hive or colony to worry about!!
What they will do is keep coming back every year, so if the holes get too bad the only way to get rid of them is to re point.
Hth
Ok, they seem to be waking up again for the sunny day today. They appear to live Ok with each other - definitely 4-5 bees using the same hole, and another 2-3 in a different hole etc.
Before we built the wall I found about 20 orange bees like these under some paving (in the sand underneath near the edges). No nest, just all quite close to each other. I moved them all to another place in the garden as all that was being dug up, so I think these bees get on quite well with each other, which is nice.
Before we built the wall I found about 20 orange bees like these under some paving (in the sand underneath near the edges). No nest, just all quite close to each other. I moved them all to another place in the garden as all that was being dug up, so I think these bees get on quite well with each other, which is nice.
Mr GrimNasty said:
My lawn has a population of tiny solitary bees, for a few weeks each spring little 1" soil piles appear everywhere with a perfect round hole in the middle - you'd think they were dried out worm casts if you didn't see the bees. So much wildlife goes unnoticed.
Miner bees. There's a little colony of these outside my office. Likewise I was convinced I had monster Dune worms or something until I sat and watched them come and go in and out of their little holes.The wasps I want to slaughter, but the miner and masonry bees are fluffy and lovely.
RedLeicester said:
The wasps I want to slaughter, but the miner and masonry bees are fluffy and lovely.
Me too. I'm not sure why though .. they both do the same sort of thing but with a wasp I'm always reaching for a lightweight stick...Actually I'm glad I took the roof off in (the very cold) winter, got a few big wasp nest combs with thousands of cells from under the old ridge tiles (between felt and ridge tile), and there were quite a few _big_ dozy wasps that got squashed - would have been a different story in this weather.
Globs said:
Me too. I'm not sure why though .. they both do the same sort of thing but with a wasp I'm always reaching for a lightweight stick...
Actually I'm glad I took the roof off in (the very cold) winter, got a few big wasp nest combs with thousands of cells from under the old ridge tiles (between felt and ridge tile), and there were quite a few _big_ dozy wasps that got squashed - would have been a different story in this weather.
Depressing isn't it. We had 11 wasps nests destroyed last year in the house alone, god alone knows how many more there are in the garden. I don't mind if they're just going about their business, but preventing us from using doors, opening windows or sitting on our wooden garden furniture is beyond the pale!Actually I'm glad I took the roof off in (the very cold) winter, got a few big wasp nest combs with thousands of cells from under the old ridge tiles (between felt and ridge tile), and there were quite a few _big_ dozy wasps that got squashed - would have been a different story in this weather.
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