Duffing up bumbles!

[Skyhook]

Last year I saw one of my girls duffing up a bumble bee on a flower- ended up separating them with a twig so the bumble could get away. Took it as a one-off clash.

Yesterday I was watching bumbles on Pulmonaria in my garden, a couple of the girls were hovering and I was interested to see if they worked them. A bumble landed on a flower- one of my bees zoomed in and knocked it off, then went back to the attack and was last seen pursuing the bumble over the fence.

Is this normal, or have I just got ASBO bees? It never occurred to me that they were territorial (other than defending the colony), I assumed it was first come first served on flowers.

A bit upsetting really- I'm like Kaz, I want to love them all!

 

[malawi2854]

Sorry - I'm completely useless, and can't help at all, but this sounds very interesting!

I too wouldn't want my bees attacking bumbles - they're far too lovely!

I shall follow this thread with interest!

 

[Hombre]

I opened up one of my hives the other day and noticed a bundle of bees on the bottom of the frame. I tapped them off onto my record sheet (big tick) and four or five honey bees fell off the bumble that they were beating up. She in turn flew off with the last remaining honey bee achieving separation at about 10 to 15m distance. She promptly returned to suck on a bit of brace comb that had nectar in it that had been sat on an adjacent roof.

 

[victor meldrew]

I was examining a colony when a hapless bumblie landed on the frame tops, in an instance she was dragged out of sight between the frames only to be carried out of the entrance in pieces in what seemed to be seconds !

John Wilkinson

 

[Chris Luck]

Not normal here on my land, a blue haze of Pulmonaria everywhere including all round the hives, loads of Bombus terrestris, Bombus lapidarius and Bombus pascuorum at the moment and no agro from the Honey bees except on the odd occasion when when one ventures into a hive, usually comes out within 30 seconds with a bee attached.

Have you tried talking to them?

Chris

 

[victor meldrew]

My experience (with my bees) is that honeybees will barge each other off flowers they are working , this seems to happen a lot when golden rod is in flower. Maybe it's because they display thousands of florets and the bees are usually excited when the flow is on ?

John Wilkison