all bee's butterflies and birds welcome to my garden,it's the wasps that set up home in my loft that I'm not keen on as they will sting you as soon as look at you where the dear little bee's know it will be the end of them so think twice about the sting.
Just had a rummage around the nest to check for wax moth caterpillars. The bees buzzed a bit but didn't even come out to see what I was doing. So tame, now. PS - if anyone does find a bumblebee nest in the garden, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust would love to hear from you. This will help them to understand better where bumblebees nest and what their requirements are. You can fill out the form on their website here.
hi kate, yes i did clear the box out with bird cleaner from garden centre..... must of worked as the little birds were as good as in there the same day....was watching them last night [although i thought they had gone] they have gone from 1 nest but are still in moth box as my daughter now says..... also we had a very very large snake in out garden yesterday afternoon.... 'yuk'....
Well done Kate, It's always nice to read about people who are so dedicated to their garden wildlife. I'm not so lovely - I had to cut up many of the caterpillars while the chicks were small!
Sarahs pondlife - I'm very jealous of your grass snake, always a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
Badgers have just destroyed a bumblebees' nest in my garden. It was heartbreaking watching the bees afterwards. It was an incredible bit of digging by the badgers. The soil was rock hard clay and full of large stones. They went down about two feet. Presumably they can smell the honey. Not wishing to sound too flippant, but I wonder if one could harness this digging power by injecting honey deep into the soil.
Sarah's pondlife - great news about the birds. Did you find any wax moth pupae in the nest when you emptied it?
Wildman of Pershore - I thought of you this morning as there was a woman on the train feeding bits of mealworm to a baby great tit. It was lovely to watch - but I didn't envy her having to do her day job on top of feeding her chick!
Dan Kelly - that's really sad. Badgers are known to predate bumblebee nests, especially in dry weather when the worms they usually feed on hide deep underground, out of badgers' reach. You could try to prevent this happening in future by leaving peanuts out for badgers on the lawn. It's an expensive option that might not work, but it may be enough to distract them away from the bees.
Kate, Thank you for the bumblebee information, I will have to really take a good look at the bumblebees in my garden. I think I have three of the bumblebees mention. They live underground.
hi kate,yes we did have some so we left it but nothing came of it..we still have them in a small box in garage ..actually was wondering what to do with it,its in a safe and warm place...any ideas.
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also we had a very very large snake in out garden yesterday afternoon.... 'yuk'....
Sarahs pondlife - I'm very jealous of your grass snake, always a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
Wildman of Pershore - I thought of you this morning as there was a woman on the train feeding bits of mealworm to a baby great tit. It was lovely to watch - but I didn't envy her having to do her day job on top of feeding her chick!
Dan Kelly - that's really sad. Badgers are known to predate bumblebee nests, especially in dry weather when the worms they usually feed on hide deep underground, out of badgers' reach. You could try to prevent this happening in future by leaving peanuts out for badgers on the lawn. It's an expensive option that might not work, but it may be enough to distract them away from the bees.
lazygardener - ooh do you have a nest in your garden then?
is everyone looking forward to springwatch?????????