Bully bees ?

[wezbeez]

In my front garden I have a large lavender bush, in previous years it has been full of bumble bees, at least three or four different types as far as I could tell.
But this year, my first as a beek, it is full of honey bees with very few bumbles.
My hives are only half a mile away from my home and i'm hoping that the bees on the bush are my own (?) My question is can one type of bee dominate a source of food ? They don't seem to be fighting each other, maybe only when two bees go for the same flower at the same time. Can this really be happening or have I got some sort of parental vision now I have my own bees.

 

[enrico]

More honey bees than bumbles but they will all use the same flowers......I would imagine..... Mine do!

 

[chrisb]

was watching some of mine on the privet today plenty of bumble there to and not a single fight to be seen
I think humanity could learn a lesson there !

 

[dclewis]

Last couple of years our lavender has not be visited by our honey bess but has been full of bumples and btterflies. This year honey bees are there in large nos and bumbles are less with few butterflies. I guess its just a question of what else is available and what else the various species have a preference for as to which they go to.

 

[Robbo8916]

I have seen a significantly smaller number of bumbles around in general this year. My garden is usually alive with them on the wild poppies and nasturtiums. Only seeing a few a day this year.

The long mild winter and wet spring may have set them back or had a larger effect on their numbers than we may have thought.

 

[Millet]

was watching some of mine on the privet today plenty of bumble there to and not a single fight to be seen
I think humanity could learn a lesson there !

The majority of wild none predator creatures avoid conflict, that is part of the key to there survival, what is the point in having a scrap and getting injured which results in the inability to collect or gather food which would result in starvation, on the bee subject i have not see so many Bumble bees since around 20 yrs ago, a Aunt of mine has three nests in her garden and i have 2 nests near my hive, Honey bees/ Bumbles/ Flies / Hover Flies / Tiger beetles/ Wasps/ etc, all get along fine in there search for food.

 

[justsmith]

Saw a bumble bee squeeze it's way in to my hive today then fly out 5 mins later chased by a bee.

 

[wezbeez]

I've been keeping my eye on things on the lavender bush and as far as I can make out the bumbles are already working when I leave for work at 5am, but never seen a honey bee that early. Too cold I assume. Also on the temp side of things there seems to bee a higher rate of bumbles to honeys as the temp goes down.
It also seems that each year will be different depending on how the weather has been. Some years more honeys and others more bumbles and butterflys.

 

[colinc]

Our hives are in the garden and note that the bumbles are out ealier and later than the honeybees. We get lots of types of bumbles too. What I have noticed is that while the bumbles forage the same plants all day long the honey bees move from plant type to plant type at different times. I assume they are more picky on the nectar flows and move around. No squabbling seen between species they just move if landed on...

 

[Curley]

Wool carder bees (males) will chase other male wool carder bees and other bees too, including honey bees. More your solitary bee than a bumble though. Seen them beating up my bees on lambs ears/tongue in the garden