As usual at this time of year we have people on worried about having a bumblebee ‘hive’ in their garden.‘Are they dangerous?’‘Should I have them removed?’‘Will they be there forever?’Here’s a quick #bumblebee #lifecycle thread to explain

[elliek@zeroes.ca]

@thebeeguy
For any who don't know. For the bees:

https://gofund.me/8fce94ab8

[cptbutton@dice.camp]

@thebeeguy

Bumblebees seem to spend a lot of time hanging out around one of my second story windows. They seem to like the edge of the roof, no idea why.

Of course, when the chestnut trees are blooming they are all over that.

[claus@hachyderm.io]

@thebeeguy I have a pair of goji berry bushes next to my deck. When they flower the bumblebees are all over them, buzzing around centimeters from my head when I'm sitting outside. The bumblebees are like chill flying puppies and don't care about my presence, I can lounge next to the bushes and don't get bothered by them. I love to have them around!

I've also been slowly rewilding my yard to make it a haven for other pollinators and don't rake the leaves in the fall to give them places to hibernate.

[maquest@mastodon.green]

@thebeeguy
Thanks, as ever. Tagging for #SolarPunkSunday

[mizblueprint@mastodon.online]

@thebeeguy
We love our bees; bumble bees, blue orchard bees, mason bees. We have so many, with 4 pollinator patches on the north, gentle north facing slopes, Mason Bee houses on the garage, a stack of drying Port Orford Cedar by the garden beds that they have colonized, & many fruit trees.

We started learning about them when we planted fruit trees that were not bearing much fruit. Now, we have bumper crops. Honey bees are not active early enough to pollinate our fruit trees.

#SolarPunkSunday

[rufovillosum@mastodon.sdf.org]

@thebeeguy I love working in my tiny cucumber patch along with the bumblebees.

[saprentice@mastodon.social]

@thebeeguy

Love the bees! They seem to go completely insane drunk on magnolia blossom stamens! Rolling around in the stamens, digging around, and even falling out of the blossoms at times. So fun to watch!

#bees #magnolia

[elsimms@ecoevo.social]

@thebeeguy I would love to have a bumblebee nest in my yard.

[d4m13n@digitalcourage.social]

@thebeeguy gibt es etwas Süßeres als einen bestäubten Hummel-Po?

[lordcaramac@discordian.social]

@thebeeguy I absolutely want as many bumblebees as possible in my garden.

[zeborah@mastodon.nz]

@thebeeguy I once had a bumblebee nest which I discovered when I went to move the compost bin early one spring. The bumblebees were *super* angry but in an exceptionally cute way but also I did not want to mess with those wee fellas. The compost bin stayed put for a few months longer.

[futurebird@sauropods.win]

@thebeeguy

This is a great guide.

I would also add that most people cannot tell a bumble bee from a carpenter bee.

If it has a shiny tush and came out of a hole in a wooden fence, then it's a carpenter bee.

Carpenter bees are solo bees but they may live in a little "neighborhood" they can drill holes in wood. If you don't want them to do this fill the holes and paint the wood!

They also pollinate flowers and as long as they aren't putting holes in a structural beam they are good.

[futurebird@sauropods.win]

@thebeeguy

To be clear carpenter bees need wood with a surface exposed to the outside to make their holes. These holes are L-shaped and a few inches long. If a beam is painted or stained they will avoid it ... unlike termites they can't mine deep into a house. Floor boards joists and beams inside of walls are not interesting to them. They want a view of flowers from their hole. So a wood surface exposed to an area with lots of flowers will attract them.

[futurebird@sauropods.win]

@thebeeguy

They have been putting holes my mom's fence for two decades and it's still functional as a fence.

I have heard about them causing problems with barns, but I really wonder if it was all the bees fault. They will reuse old holes year after year. They don't eat wood, they just use it as shelter to raise their babies.

[peterhald@helvede.net]

@thebeeguy

They are so nice to have around in the garden and they really appreciate our lavender and thyme in return.

Is there a recommended design for nesting boxes?

[asakiyume@wandering.shop]

@futurebird @thebeeguy Love these guy. They make holes in the posts on my deck, too, but they're so charming, somehow. I guess if I thought the deck was going to fall apart due to their activity I'd feel differently, but so far it's not that many holes!

[leechindustries@zeroes.ca]

@thebeeguy I love having them in the garden, found this little guy asleep in the amaranth.

[quizzicus@mastodon.online]

@futurebird @thebeeguy Though I've learned to be careful about grabbing pieces of wood that have been sitting outside for a while!

[mdione@en.osm.town]

@thebeeguy I call this a boostable executive summary

[saltywizard@beige.party]

@futurebird

dear carpenter bee,

you can make a hole in my wood anytime.

love,
salty

@thebeeguy