Cant go outside for bees!!!

[Victoria26]

HELP!! For the past few days i've noticed one or two bees resting on the brickwork outside my front door. Also on the white wooden door. I surmised that they must be in the warmth enjoying the sunshine and attracted by the big butterfly bush at the side of my house...

Unfortunately this morning, My husband squealed like a girl and ran inside the house telling me to open the curtains. No less than 40 bees are covering my front door and he is terrified they are going to set up a hive!

I've been out and they seem very placid, they dont move a lot when I open the door and let me walk in and out. But why are they there? And so many?

Please give me your opinion as Iv stopped hubby going outside with a can of raid and blasting the poor wee mites. At least if I can show him your answers, he might not kill them.

Oh and OR THE RECORD, he has asked me to state he did NOT squeal like a little girl.... he is correct..... it was more like my granny!

[zazen999]

Belfast and District Beekeepers

Can you call one of the guys on here and ask if they want to collect them. Are they honeybees?

[Two_Sheds]

Honey or one of the (many) bumble bees?


Bumbles won't sting you unless you batter them, they're very placid even when nesting

[Victoria26]

i will post a pic give me two minutes x x

[Victoria26]

It wont let me post pics as it says they are far too large.... They look to me like honey bees although they dont have such a distinctive yellow and black stripe. They are not so much yellow as caramel coloured. Definatly not bumbles but not to worry... hes been warned not to kill them. I think hes just a little creeped out by the buzzing x

[Two_Sheds]

Use resizr dot com


Honey bees aren't really stripy, they're a buff/brown colour. They're quite a slim bee too, compared to the fatter bumbles

[Two_Sheds]

Free Online Image Resizer - Photo & Picture Resize & Crop


for smaller pix

[Victoria26]

Thanks everyone, thats definatly them! Today Im planting primroses, freesia, and a rhubarb crown so lets hope i dont get stung! x

Will phone some of those beekeepers

[hailtryfan]

From the behaviour you have reported they are likely to be a species of mason bee rather than honeybees. They can look similar so are easily confused for honeybees. Mason bees bask in the sun in the morning to warm up and like warm brickwork or white surfaces. They often live in holes in the mortar in walls.

Don't worry about them as they will only sting if stepped on or handled roughly.

[Alison]

We've had mason bee nests a few times but they're no bother at all and neither me nor OH have been stung by them - that said, ours were on the second floor so we didn't have to walk through them.

[Two_Sheds]

From the behaviour you have reported they are likely to be a species of mason bee

They're solitary bees though, they don't gather in large numbers ... ?BBC Nature - Mason bees videos, news and facts



It looks a lot like a honeybee doesn't it?
Maybe a bit squatter/fatter

[hailtryfan]

We've had mason bee nests a few times but they're no bother at all and neither me nor OH have been stung by them - that said, ours were on the second floor so we didn't have to walk through them.

Yeah, they're pretty gentle. Less likely to sting than a honeybee as they are not protecting a colony of thousands. If they die (which they usually do if they sting) their young will most likely die too. Honeybees have lots of sisters to help raise their kin.

They're solitary bees though, they don't gather in large numbers ... ?

They're probably not gathering in the social sense, more like all using a handy resource at the same time. There are probably lots of prime nest sites very close by in the wall. We have loads that gather on the white surrounds of the windows on my balcony. Watching them is one of the things that got me into bees :-)

[Two_Sheds]

I love them (solitary bees). I especially love the ones that make little round holes in my soil