Advice re possible underground beehive

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uknewfie

New Bee
Joined
May 17, 2014
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Location
Warrington, Cheshire
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Hi
I wonder if anyone can give me some advice. We are in Cheshire and we are renovating our small garden.

Along one side of the garden we currently have a patch of ground against the fence which is full of Perrywinkle plant which we want to get rid of. However, we think there may be an underground beehive underneath the plant as we are seeing bees entering and leaving from the same spot on a daily basis. There do not appear to be many and it always seems to be a single bee entering/leaving each time and not 100% sure whether there is a queen there or not

Any advice on whether we are okay to dig up the foliage and plant within that area would be most appreciated please.
Many thanks
 
They are likely to be bumble bees who nest in the ground. If you can wait until the autumn they will have gone, pity not to wait.
E
 
100% certain they will not be honeybees, apis mellifera. They are tree dwellers, primarily, but not subterranean. Many don't know the differences between honeybees, solitary wasps and bees, bumblebees and wasps.

I suggest you compare these insects with pics from the net.
 
Thanks for your quick responses. We will hold off doing anything to that area until we've done a bit more investigating. Really don't want to disturb them if we can help it as they seem very docile and are not bothering us at the moment - it's actually quite enjoyable watching their comings and goings. The Perrywinkle may just have to stay for a while longer! :)

Thanks again.
 
It is perfectly in order for honey bees to nest in a bank or dry spot under vegitation. It is real old school to find honey bees in such a place. But first double check and research the type of bees but dont be surprised if they turn out to be honey bees. Why not post a few photos of the bees so we can all have a look at the type of bees. Interesting post. Thanks.
PS saw such a bee nest as a young lad but not in years so would really be interested to see a few photos or a utube vid.
 
Probably bumble bees. There will be a nest under there with anything from a few bees to a couple of hundred. One place you could start is http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/identification/common-bumblebees/

The site has several identification guides for the most likely species. If you can leave them for the summer, they will be gone by autumn - the queens hibernate over winter in a dark corner and start a new nest next spring. They're great to have around and help pollinate fruit and other veg. You even encourage some species to nest in your garden with bee nesting boxes that several conservation charities sell or you can make from plans on their websites.
 

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