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[addy1]

I don't thing they do, ground nesting bees do, like the bumble bee, darker in color, small like the honey bee and gentle. They nest in the ground in a series of tunnels. If you can leave them be, let them live, they are great pollinators. Honey bees like being 2 foot and higher above ground.

We just inspected two of our hives, so far brood, uncapped brood lot of bees, but very little honey stores. (We pulled no honey this year) We are going to start feeding them a lot more. 2/1 bee crack 2 parts sugar to 1 part water to get them to start, hopefully, building up winter stores.

 

[HARO]

These are much smaller than bumblebees, and there are LOTS of them. Are bumbles not solitary nesters?
John

 

[addy1]

No we have had nest of them under the shop, under the deck etc.

Ground-nesting bees include the digger bees (family Anthoporidae), sweat bees (family Halictidae), and mining bees (family Andrenidae)

http://insects.about.com/od/insectpests/p/Ground-Bees.htm

It does say this about them.

"Ground bees are solitary bees. Each female digs and provisions her own burrow. However, it's not unusual to find dozens of ground bee nests in one area if conditions are suitable for nesting. Males may fly over the burrows, patrolling for potential mates."

"bumble bee
A suitable place for nesting is usually on the ground, beneath a flat object. An old mouse hole or similar hole in the ground is preferred if it is underneath an old tarp, flat stone or man made objects such as a deck. The hole chosen by the queen bee is first padded by pieces of vegetation such as dry grass or moss.
It is in this padded underground hole that the fertilized queen bumble bee lays her eggs and begins collecting nectar for her soon to hatch grubs. On the grubs emerge from their eggs, the queen bumble bee spins a protective silk cocoon for each grub. It is from this first batch of larvae that 5 to 20 daughters emerge. These daughters of the queen bumble bee are workers who begin immediately start working on building the colony. The queen bee will continue to lay eggs for the remainder of the summer season. The workers work tirelessly to build the colony, collect nectar for the young and also to provide protection for the colony. The first batch (or hatching) of bumble bee workers are smaller than their sisters who will emerge later on when the colony grows larger and healthier. The queen bee uses her energy to begin the nest and this energy (as well as time) is spread thin as she is the sole worker for the new colony. As the colony grows, the eggs and larvae are given more attention and food simply because there are many workers that share the work load. It is at this point in time that larger bumble bees are seen.

Bumble bees are often first noticed (in the area of the nest) when this activity of guarding the nest and pollen collecting begins. The worker bees are focused only on their job and will not go out of their way to sting people. It is only if people get too close to their nest or threaten them when bumble bees will sting. Bumble bees do not die after stinging, as do some other stinging insects.

Towards late summer, the queen will start to produce drones and young queens. The young queens are fertilized by the drones, then fly off to hibernate. Hibernation usually takes place in dry protected areas such as loose bark. The colony's remaining drones and workers stay in the colony and die during the winter season. The young queens start new colonies in the spring of the year. As mentioned above, bumble bees do not use the same nest though they may nest in an area close by to the original bee nest.

 

[beerfish]

@HARO Google ground wasps and see if that's what they are. Honeybees don't build underground. If they're ground wasps, an exterminator can get rid of them with spread granules, or you can get a targeted spray and find all of their entrances and spray.

 

[addy1]

Ground wasps are real obvious, they come out in a cloud and come after you. At least here they do.

 

[HARO]

DEFINITELY not wasps or hornets! I've been Googling, and have come up with much the same info regarding bumblebees, digger bees, sweat bees, etc. Will see if I can get any pictures of them before our resident skunks dig them out.
John

 

[HARO]

I may have spoken too soon! When I first saw these creatires, I thought they were a dull brown. Now that I've got pictures, they sure LOOK like yellowjackets, but less than half the size, and they aren't agressive! They are crawling all over something white, which seems to be the skeleton of a small animal, probably a mole. It's dark now, but they are still there. Will post pics once I can remember how to do it.
John

 

[addy1]

I usually see thousands of yellow jackets this time of year, eating the falling apples. So far I have only seen two. The cold winter must have killed off some of the overwintering queens.

Interesting as to what you have there Haro

 

[mrsclem]

Could be juvenile yellow jackets. We have had dozens around after the nests got dug out. They are definitely not as aggressive as the adults. I was able to stand right next to the nest with them flying around.

 

[HARO]

DEFINITELY not wasps or hornets! I've been Googling, and have come up with much the same info regarding bumblebees, digger bees, sweat bees, etc. Will see if I can get any pictures of them before our resident skunks dig them out.
John

My humble appologies. The current occupants of the mound are Eastern Yellowjackets (Vespula maculifrons), but smaller than any I have ever seen. I got to within a foot of them without being stung. VERY UNUSUAL!
John

 

[HARO]

Sorry, my computer slowed down to about three letters a minute and had to be restarted. As near as I can figure, the original occupants of the dirt mound were some type of ground bee, living in a colony, as each seemed to have its own tiny entrance. The yellowjackets must have found (or killed) the mole, which is in a separate pile of dirt about a foot from the original nest. They are now stripping all meat from the unfortunate burrower, but are not entering the nest, except for the odd one. This leads me to believe that they are supplying meat for a hive at some distance from this location, which may be why they are not aggressive. They are too busy working to worry about me! As for the ground bees, either they are hiding in their burrows, or they were killed off by the YJs. From what I've gleaned off the internet, this is the most likely explanation.
John
Sorry, @addy1, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. Feel free to move it.

 

[addy1]

not hijacking all about bees, wasps etc.

I find them fascinating the more involved with the bees we get. Just now yj's are showing up here, usually they are covering the ground when the apples fall, this year they are just now showing up. I watched a large wasp type, black and white, carry off a skinny green worm stinging it as it went. Off to some nest to make babies.

 

[HARO]

I check the site daily, they are slowly exposing more of what I think is a skull, picking it clean as a whistle! The skunks haven't bothered the YJs yet, probably because there is no nest there. I just find it fascinating.
John

 

[Sunshine]

This is what one of Addy's bees did to me yesterday. I'm sure he flew all that way just to get me.
He got me in my house while I was watching TV.

 

[HARO]

Call your lawyer. That's grounds for a million-dollar lawsuit!!!
John