dumber than dumb needs advice

[pargyle]

They might ,, they might not. Bees that have nests seem to have some difficulty relocating when their 'nest' is removed and they have become separated from it. Really the best time to have moved the box would have been when the maximum number of bees were home - with bumbles it's a bit difficult as they do not all return to the nest overnight ... some will stay out and hide in a flower or find a crevice in a tree. But ... late in the evening would probably have been better than when they are out in the sunshine foraging.

What will happen to those returning to the original site of the bird box ... they might cast around looking for it or they may just give up and wander around the area - if they are males, this is quite normal - it's the females mainly that return to the nest in order to provide food for the emerging bees.

But ... all bumbles are capable of living a solitary life so you may see them hanging around the garden until they die - they only live a few weeks anyway.

It's why we usually recommend that bumble bee nests are left until they are vacated in late summer - although, I recognise, in your case, this was not possible.

https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/lifecycle/

 

[ericbeaumont]

Will they find their way to the new location, or what's going to happen to them?

Years ago I was advised to move bumblebee nests in the same way as honeybee colonies: 3 feet or 3 miles.

Bees can find a nest easily when moved less than 3' from the original spot, but further than that may cause confusion as bees locate on the site, not the nest.

Moving a nest or hive 3 miles obliges bees to re-programme their sat-navs, which had memorised routes based on the old site, and replace them with new routes. By this means bees will return to the new site and not the old.

The link given above by BB agrees, more or less: Re-locating close-by. Re-locate the nest box onto a stable surface close to its original location (say 1 – 3 metres) Re-locating further away. Keep the box upright and somewhere cool and dark overnight, while they are shut-in. The following day, fix the box to a firm surface not liable to vibration and ideally a mile or more from the original location.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I could hang it onto the new shed, or on some pole stuck in the middle of the garden, but it seems to me that the bees need a bigger accommodation.

they're bumbles, and that box is big enough for them - that's the size the colony grows to, just move them to a safe space nearby, but be aware, they may sting.