Lincolnshire Newbie

[Mand]

Hi,

My name is Mand & I live in the North Lincs area.

I'm not a bee keeper but i am interested in the types of bees ( insects/wildlife ) I'm getting in my garden.

Both my neighbour & myself have put up these bee/bug houses around various parts of our gardens.
He got quite excited when he saw a bee hovering around the bamboo tubes of one of his houses ( we soon discovered it was a leafcutter bee ) & have been watching it carry leaves to & fro to line out it's little nest . Within a week he had two bamboo tubes fully lined & sealed with leaves .

The problem now is ( & we don't understand why ) another bee has been today & started to destroy one of these tubes !!! .... we've seen it go in & bring out leaf by leaf & toss them away ! ..... Why is it doing this ? It doesn't make sense when there are plenty of other bamboo tubes it could build a nest it !

Have any of you seen this happen before ?

 

[Mand]

Can anyone help me with advice please ?

I realize that i'm probably on the wrong forum ! as this seems to be for people who keep bees ?

But this is the first year i've installed little bee/bug houses into my garden & i'm trying to learn as much as I can about the different types of bees & how they behave !

I'd really appreciate some input or point me in the right direction of the kind of info to help please

 

[cafemonkey]

Hi Mandy. Nice to see you on here. Solitary bees will on occasion replace nests with their own to propagate their own young ensuring their genes carry on. The best thing IMHO would be multiple nest sites within your garden providing plenty of choice for neighbouring species without conflicts. Consider yourself lucky to have such an interesting ' Problem'

 

[cafemonkey]

Even more nests than you have ... Different types with varied heights, amount of tubes etc. Make some yourself by drilling groups of holes in old logs and leaving them round the edge of both gardens

 

[Mand]

Thanks CafeMonkey !

I have got quite a lot of things in my garden to ecourage lots of wildlife, 5 bee/bug houses , 2 butterfly lodges, 7 nesting boxes , 2 Hedgehog houses & 2 Frog/Toad homes. Lol. Not to mention all the bee/butterfly friendly plants all around .
Both my neighbour & me are lucky enough to have rather long gardens ( approx 350ft x 24ft. . . It's lovely to sit & watch the bees flitting around the garden enjoying the various plants,trees & flowers

 

[Swarm]

Along with the bamboo, drilled logs, etc, you can install Bumble Bee nests on the cheap. Get two pond plant baskets and two plant pots that the baskets will fit inside and two short lengths of flexible hose (about 1" diameter the stuff for pond pumps is ideal)
Cut a hole in the bottom of all the pots/baskets and insert the lengths of tube and secure. Get some sphagnum moss and put it inside the baskets then use cable ties to secure first the basket rims to each other and then do the same with the pots. Bury the nest allowing the ends of the tube to act as entrance/exits and enjoy.
Ok maybe not this year but next year.

 

[Mand]

Thanks for that advice Swarm

Funnily enough i've just been looking on the RSPB website & saw a similar technique on building a bumblebee house , I'll have a go at making some then & fingers crossed for some tenants next year