Bee Nest? - Bombus pensylvanicus

Moved

… John S. Ascher, 5 February, 2014 - 7:12am

Great find

Yes, they are bumblebees. They build their nests in abandoned rodents nests or other cavities. Sometimes they add a roof, like the one here. We should add some info to the bumblebee page. Vespula vulgaris can tell you a lot about bumblebees; he's been raising some and has pictures of nests.

… Beatriz Moisset, 4 July, 2008 - 9:35am

Would this have fallen out

of a tree or out of the compost pile? Doesn't seem like something they would build on a concrete slab overnight??

… john and jane balaban, 4 July, 2008 - 2:57pm

Would this have fallen out

Good question, I was thinking the same thing! I last went to the compost bin 2-3 dyas ago and there was nothing on the slab. The mass of vegetation looks an awful lot like a squirrel's nest to me. I think these bumblebee's are ground nesters (experts, is this right?) so was wondering if during one of the strong thunderstorms we've had the last few days, maybe the nest got blown out of a tree and the bees decided it looked like a good place to make a nest?

… kcandelora, 4 July, 2008 - 5:09pm

Ground nesters

But only the queen starts a nest and start to raise a family. You see a whole colony there. Something has been going on for a while. Is there a crack in the slab, with a cavity underneath?

… Beatriz Moisset, 4 July, 2008 - 5:37pm

Ground nesters

Ah, I was wondering about that too! When you say 'a while' any idea how long? Are we talking days or weeks or months? I can't be sure, but it is very possible that there is a cavity underneath the slab. The slab is quite old and does have at least 1 crack in the far corner.

… kcandelora, 4 July, 2008 - 9:24pm

Ground nesters

The queen starts a nest when it comes out of hibernation in early spring, then lays half a dozen eggs or so and nurtures them until adults; this takes a few weeks, so I can't be more precise than that. There is some info in Wikipedia (we should add a little more to our Bumblebee page). You can trust the Hymenoptera pages in Wikipedia because Yanega is in charge of the Hymenoptera project; it is nice to know.

… Beatriz Moisset, 5 July, 2008 - 6:30am

Ground Nesters

Thank you, that is very helpful. It makes me think there most likely is a nest under the slab. We are trying to decided how to handle the nest. It is in a high activity area in the yard, I have a very old dog who's out there all the time, and my husband has already been stung by a bee protecting the nest. But I am opposed to killing the colony, was hoping to have a friend who keeps honey bees come over in his suit and move it. But now I'm thinking that may not be possible if the nest is under the slab. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

… kcandelora, 5 July, 2008 - 7:27am

bee nest

sorry not an expert so i can't give you a specific Id on them.. but they are bumble bees in the genus bombus.
i highly doubt the nest was up in a tree. aerial nests are rare.
most likely, the nest has been dug up by some predator (possible a raccoon or skunk) overnight and the bees do not know what to do.

… Vespula Vulgaris, 30 July, 2008 - 9:07pm