Hney bee colony?

[w33blegurl]

HI All

Last year we put up a bee/lacewing box to try and attract some more beneficial instects into the garden. So far so good as quite a lot of leaf cutter bees were using the box ove summer. All of a sudden there is now a hive of activity (pardon the pun ) and at any given time, I can see 10-15 bees buzzing about the box going in and out of the holes. Unfortunately none of them sill stay still enough for me to identify them or get a pic, but look like some kind of honey-bee type thing. Could a colony of bees have set up house here, or is it a load more likely to be a ot of solitary type bees that just happen to all be around at the same time...have not a clue about this!!
Thanks

[Mrs Dobby]

Honey bees are unlikely to set up home in a bee box, it isnt big enough, if you take a look at the piccies on my blog you should be able to identify if they are honey bees (apis mellifora) or whether they are a type of bumble, masonry or solitary bee. Not all non-honey bees are solitary, some live in small colonies, some in larger colonies, and some are genuinely solitary.

HTH