Kitchen Garden Forum

Bird Boxes and Bumble Bees.
The bird boxes in my garden are being utilised as normal by Blue and Great Tits - apart from one which has been taken over by Bumble bees. What, if anything should I do? Any advice welcome.

I would just let them get on with things, and think yourself very lucky.

Thanks very much - this is the answer I had hoped for.

Yes please leave them alone - the bumble bees will leave anyway as they don't use the same box long term

What kind of bumble bee? I was amazed how many different ones there are.
if you want to encourage them to pollinate your garden they love flowers with deep throats, and like the iris in my pond, and my wild foxgloves which supply then with pollen for quite a few weeks, and the broad bean flowers too, my cane fruit hum with their activity too, and they are quite partial to chive flowers and nasturtium. As honey bees have declined it's important to
encourage the wild ones, if we want our food pollinated. It's especially important to provide early and late pollen plants for them,when they are likely to struggle a bit. Actually I learned the other day that some tits eat bumble bees ! So I hope they are not too close!

http://bumblebeeconservation.org/

http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/ga ... lebees.htm

Its important to have a range of flower shapes as the long tongued bees need flowers with deep throats but short tongued bees need flatter headed flowers.

Another point is that some people grow pollen free sunflowers which are of no use to bees or flowers with very double heads like double primroses again which are not good for bees.

At the moment our bees are enjoying the blossom on our tayberry. There are lots of different types which I am trying to photograph. I have photos of some others on my blog

Love the photos Gallotments, looking at your blog you were asking how to tell male and female ones apart... the male is more red coloured than female,
one male will pollinate several femalle plants so I am going to try and strike some female cuttings. Have you tried that? My first attempt wilted terribly so I will have anorher bash and cover it this time.

Glad you liked the photos NB.

It wasn't how to tell male and female bumblebees - that was for kiwi flowers and I've since found that out - it was just that someone may have been able to identify which bumble bee was which.

Bombus hypnorum is a relatively new bumble to the UK and has a definate penchant for bird boxes. It's a black bee with a reddish orange bum.

As t'others said, best just to leave 'bee' *ahem*.

Myrkk
That's a good description. The red/orange bum is not too obvious at first but I've been up close trying to take a reasonable picture of one. They are not very big. If I do get a photograph I will try to post it here(might need help with the techy bit)

Gallotments, I was talking about the kiwi plants not the bees, the male is redder. My self fertile kiwi Jenny is not yet in flower, it flowered too early last year and suffered frost, this year it is flowering much later they are still in bud.

Sorry we were at cross purposes! I guess you are talking about the leaves. I think the male must be redder as he is embarrassed that he isn't producing any flowers unlike the female!

I was just wodering tonight, why the Bumble Bees are returning in such large numbers.
But what ever the reason, it's very pleasing.