Bill Mundy and I receive numerous requests for help with bees that have taken up residence in peoples houses, gardens or outbuildings.My initial question is phrased to ascertain what their concerns are relating to the bees and they are usually about the danger of bee stings because the bees have built a nest in an area where they are in close contact with people especially children. If they are honeybees we'll coax them out of their nest, take them away and re-house them but if they turn out to be Bumble bees then the location of their nest is very important. If the nest is situated out of the way where the bees are unlikely to feel threatened by people going about their everyday activities I try to persuade the householders that they are privileged to have the bees. Often information about the bee's species and life cycle stimulates interest in preservation and a sense of ownership. So far this year we have re-housed four colonies of Bumble bees on the Apiary. Two are of the species Tree bumble bee (Bombus hypnorum) and the other two are either Buff-tailed or White-tailed bumblebees (B. terrestris or B. lucorum). Later this year we have an "Apiary Talk" by Nicki Gammans of the Bumble bee Conservation Trust and I'll get a positive id then.
I'm giving some thought to keeping a "Swarm log", (on this blog), with dates, locations, technical detail and information on the challenges encountered by Dartford Beekeepers when collecting swarms. More later.
Barry
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