I've found a bumblebee nest - what shall I do?
People often worry about bumblebees stinging or swarming. Bumblebees are the most placid of bees and will not sting unless absolutely necessary - for example if stood on. They have small nests in comparison to honey bees or wasps and it is not in their nature to swarm.
The bumblebee nest is used for one season. At the end of the summer the bees will disperse, all adults will die over winter except for the new queen bumblebees which hibernate and emerge the following spring to start a new nest. If a nest is destroyed before the next generation of queens has been produced, the original queen and all of the bumblebees of that nest will die over winter, no bumblebees from that individual nest will survive to reproduce another year.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust advise against moving a bumblebee nest because the chances of the colony surviving are slim. Bumblebees rely on landscape features surrounding their nest to find food and locate the nest, if moved they may leave the nest to forage for food to feed their larvae and be unable to find the nest again. Attempting to move a bumblebee nest should be a last resort however The Bumblebee Conservation Trust provide further advice on how to do this and bumblebees in general.
Bumblebees are valuable pollinators - they feed exclusively on pollen and nectar. Without bumblebees the people of Suffolk would not enjoy the benefits of many arable crops, orchards, vegetables and flowers. Bumblebees are nationally declining and wildlife friendly gardens have become a crucial refuge for bumblebees to survive and thrive.
If you would like to encourage bumblebees in your garden it can be as simple as placing a ceramic flower pot upside down to provide a cavity for them to nest in or growing pollen and nectar rich flowers.
Bumble bee image by Paul Edwards
