Bumblebee box

[vuzh]

I made a bumblebee nest box a couple of years back, based on plans that I saw here: (link). Supposedly it's not especially likely that a queen bee will actually find the box, although it can happen... well it hadn't happened for me for the last two years. I had read that if you don't get a bee to set up a nest in the box that you can try to

Comments

[waywalker]

Neat! This is all new to me, as I've never even heard of bumblebee boxes. Good work, and nice photos! Thanks for the post.

[whatisbiscuits]

If you can find some used mice bedding, maybe from your local pet shop, that's supposed to help attract queen bumblebees, as old mouse nests are a favourite nesting site.

[vuzh]

Yeah, ew. I just used some clean shredded up rags for bedding. :)

[whatisbiscuits]

The world of bees is all about smells! Old honeycomb also smells appealing.

[cissa]

Very cool!

How can you tell a queen bumblebee from an ordinary one- or is that a stupid question? :)

[vuzh]

At least in colder climates, like Colorado, you can tell from the time of the year. In late Spring / early Summer the only bumblebees you'll see are queens that have emerged from wherever they overwintered. The queens are also much larger than workers or males.

[cissa]

Cool! Thank you! I live in central MA, and I bet that's true here, too.

I don't know much about any kind of bees than honeybees, so i really appreciate the info. :)

Re: Hope for my bumblebee box

[vuzh]

Nice looking box. The pages I've read suggest making several boxes and placing them at various places around the yard to increase the chances of having bumblebees inhabit one. I only have the one. I haven't seen any further activity at the box I made, but I might just be missing it.

Make sure you clean out the box every spring... my box gets a big spider or two that hang out inside. Earwigs too.

I also have solitary bee houses and those are wildly popular.