Are these honeybees?

[AndyTierling]

My sister runs a small dog training company in North Norfolk from a large poly tunnel based in an apple orchard. Getting to the poly tunnel yesterday she says there is a good-sized swarm of honeybees in there but they aren't clustered they are all over the inside and all calm. She sent me the photo because she isn't sure if they are honeybees. Looking at the pho I am not sure they are either; they look a bit too stripey (if that is possible) and wasp like but with a hairy thorax. I live 200 miles away so not easy for me to pop in and have a look. Thoughts?

 

[MerryBee]

They look to me like ivy bees - very stripy yellow/black abdomen and ginger thorax
They emerge at this time of year to coincide with the ivy flowering.
I saw some this morning on the ivy flowers by my front gate.
The female is slightly bigger than a honey bee according to the link below , but I think the ones I am seeing are males and are slightly smaller than a honey bee.
https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/ivyminingbee/

 

[user 819]

No.
A solitary of some specie, can't say l have seen one with an abdomen that colour.

 

[user 819]

They look to me like ivy bees - very stripy abdomen and ginger thorax
They emerge at this time of year to coincide with the ivy flowering.
I saw some this morning on the ivy flowers by my front gate.
https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/ivyminingbee/

Thanks for the I.D, not come across one before. Something new I learned today.

 

[MerryBee]

Thanks for the I.D, not come across one before. Something new I learned today.

Have to admit i had never seen one until yesterday!

 

[Swarm]

Yes, Ivy bees.

 

[AndyTierling]

Thanks for the info, based on the link I would say your ID is spot on. They don't seem very solitary at my sisters though, she says there are thousands of them. It is quite a big industrial poly tunnel and this is one small section of the roof:



Not sure what she can about them, she doesn't want to kill them but needs to carry on being able to train dogs

 

[user 819]

Info on them suggests life span is 5 - 6 weeks to co- inside with the ivy. They are solitary but on mass act like a swarm from nesting sites.

 

[MerryBee]

Check out the BWARS website (Bees,Wasps and Ants Recording Society)

They say:

>>Do these bees sting?
Well.... the females can sting, but to get them to do this you'd have to pick them up and squeeze them. I have sat in the midst of nesting aggregations of tens of thousands of these bees and never been touched, let alone stung. The vast majority of the bees in these so-called swarms are males, and have no sting whatsoever. They are swarming over the ground on the look out for emerging females. Basically, C. hederae is all but completely safe with children and pets

So your sister can just leave them alone and they wont bother her.

Information Sheet here

 

[Woodland bees]

We've just spent a few minutes watching a few hundred ivy bees digging out and nesting in our garden. A couple of somewhat poor quality pics as they don't sit still.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

We've just spent a few minutes watching a few hundred ivy bees digging out and nesting in our garden. A couple of somewhat poor quality pics as they don't sit still.

Lucky you