Honey or Masonry Bee Nest?

[bexdiy]

Hi,

Seem to have acquired a nest of these, through what looks like a high up hole in a cavity wall, no idea if it was already there or if these are digging. Possibly too high for a ladder to plug the hole as well

Does this look like a honey or masonry bee? Are these safe to leave or should I look to get rid of them? I am happy to help bees, but I've had several come inside today and they seem to be swarming a bit outside and a bit aggressive. Will this last all summer?



Would you leave them or resolve?

[CubanPete]

I think masonry bees are solitary.

Unless there are causing a problem I would leave them either way.

[bexdiy]

Ok thanks, as long as that definitely is a masonry bee? I wont' suddenly have honey dripping through the walls?!

By solitary, there's a lot of them all flying through the same hole... is that expected?

Edited by bexdiy on Monday 17th May 11:42

[ewanjp]

Don't worry the honey won't drip anywhere! The process to extract it is quite involved (basically you cut the lids off all the cells and then use a centrifuge) - the bees spend a lot of time getting he honey so they don't like it going unused!

I would leave them, Bee swarm maybe once or twice a year - even when swarming they're normally unaggressive - I've stood in the middle of several videoing them. The bees will land on you, but just brush them off. If they do swarm and you get a big ball of bees hanging from a tree, just wait a few hours and it'll have fked off somewhere else - it's quite an interesting process to watch - you'll see they send off scouts in straight lines looking for a new house, and then suddenly all shoot off.

(Source: married to a bee keeper)

[bexdiy]

Thanks that's really helpful - so that does look like a honey bee rather than masonry? I guess I have little choice but to leave them and repoint the hole later in the year.

[Comacchio]

Pretty sure that's a honey bee. I'd look up your local bee keeping association and ask somebody if they can come to remove a swarm/hive before it gets really established.

[bexdiy]

that's bad news. These are a long way up, i guess they cant be removed without scaffolding. Is there much chance of building damage?

[Comacchio]

bexdiy said:

that's bad news. These are a long way up, i guess they cant be removed without scaffolding. Is there much chance of building damage?

They could be in an interim home at the moment - recent hot weather might have caused a growth of their previous hive and so they've swarmed, then if the weather has cooled down a bit they might just be using the cavity wall as a hotel until the weather turns at which point they'll hunt for their 'forever' home - but if there's enough space in the cavity wall they may decide just to stay. It's hard to say either way unfortunately.

A proper bee keeper would be best to assess.

https://www.bbka.org.uk/find-beekeeping-near-you

[ewanjp]

Generally if they're in a wall you can't remove the hive unfortunately. Bee keepers are great for swarms etc, but much harder to get at the queen (the rest will follow) if it's in a wall. I would just leave them.

Edit: an unmanaged bee colony in this country won't last very long anyway, as verioa mite will get them.

[LeadFarmer]

Mason, not masonry. Although these nest alone in narrow holes in wood etc

Try to leave them 'bee' if you can, they shouldn't cause you any trouble.

[Evanivitch]

Pretty sure honey bees. Worth getting local ber keepers in, they may be without a queen so could be removed with some encouragement. Bill Turnbull (off BBC news) writes about removing bees from a chimney in his book, it's possible but difficult to do properly.

As others have said, in the UK and wild they'll unlikely last a winter.

[rxe]

I am a beekeeper by marriage - I do all of the ladder work catching swarms. And the carpentry.

Depending on where the exit is, they should not cause you a problem outside the house. The only challenge will be if the exit is facing the garden, causing them to fly directly through the garden. Firstly, the guard bees (they are a thing....) will investigate movement close to the entrance (say 20 feet away). They will investigate lawn mowers. They will investigate kids on a trampoline. If they get caught in long hair, they will generally sting, and then the owner of said hair is tagged with a pheromone that basically says “I am a bear intent on raiding the hive, sting me, preferably in the eyes”. Most beekeepers have “nice” bees, that have been bred for docility, hopefully that’s what you have too, but they might be utter ba5tards.

It is possible to get the queen out of a wall, but it is difficult, basically you need to mount a hive over the entrance, with some brood (eggs, larvae) in it, and with a bit of luck, the queen will come out. Once she is out, a one way “bee valve” gets the rest out. But that depends on the lay out of the nest - if the brood frames in your cavity wall are a long way from the entrance, you have zero chance.

The only downside is that if they are successful, there will be a load of honey and comb in your cavity. They will almost certainly die out within a year or two - the survivability of wild (unmanaged) honey bees is very questionable after we humans have buggered it up with Varroa and other pests. Even if they do die out, the presence of honey in the cavity will attract swarms from far and wide. If they’re in a position that doesn’t bother you, I’d let them crack on, they’re great to watch, and a swarm landing is awesome. If they do bother you, wait until they’ve died naturally (zero activity on a warm summers day = they’re dead), and fill the hole with foam to stop new tenants moving in.

[dickymint]

Looks more Honey than Mason Bee. Best way to tell is watch them going in closely if you see pollen on their rear legs then they're Honey Bees. Masons don't have "pollen baskets" but collect it on their hairs.

Generally when bees swarm they'll go to fairly nearby tree for a couple of days then move on to a permanent home. I'd say you've got them for a while They will swarm again (not all of them though) once the workers decide the Queen is not doing her job - they'll produce Swarm Cells for their next generation and original Queen will leave with around half the colony. Or they will make "spercedure cells" ............. it gets complicated

Most beekeepers would love to have them as a good swarm with a Queen (preferably a mated Queen) is worth around £150-£200 which is why they'll do it for free. But yours seem a lot more hassle to collect.

Here's a couple of vids of one of my hives that swarmed 2 weeks ago...........



Ten minutes later............



I got lucky - easy job.............

Edited by dickymint on Tuesday 18th May 13:54

[NMNeil]

I've kept bees for many years, and here's a YouTube poster who knows his stuff and makes his living by removing bees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeui8BW69PE
I don't know how he can do it without wearing a full protective suit though
Get a professional in; don't try and remove them yourself, or plug the entrance (won't work).
And no; they won't leave or die out on their own. JP's other videos show him removing 40 year old hives.

[rxe]

Colonies in walls can be many years old, but that is because they have been re-occupied many times. A healthy swarm (most swarms are healthy) move in, they pick up varroa, they pick up other bee diseases and die. A new swarm moves in, finds a load of “free honey and comb” and gets on with it, but succumbs to the same problems. To the outside observer, it is the same “colony”. But it is no more the same colony than tenants who move into a house.