Bumblebees are undoubtedly one of the most likeable representatives of the stinging insect order. The fluffy, fat and sedate fellows are busy pollinators and quite lazy. They like to build their nests in abandoned mouse burrows or in piles of stones - and also often in our gardens.
What to do with a bumblebee nest?
If you have a bumblebee nest in your garden, you must not simply remove it. Bumblebees are very peaceful insects. They do not pose any danger. You must obtain official permission beforehand and commission an expert to remove them.
Build your own bumblebee nest
You can of course also build a nesting site yourself that is specifically designed for bumblebees. A wooden box in the style of a bird's nesting box is very easy to make; you can find numerous building instructions online. Depending on the type of bumblebee, the nesting aid should be designed slightly differently. For earth bumblebees, Nabu also recommends burying the nesting box in the ground and connecting it to the surface via a tube.
A nesting aid for a bumblebee nest made from a flower pot is sometimes recommended. However, according to Nabu, it should be filled with nesting material. If the flowerpot already contains filling material such as dry moss, grass and soft, insulating dog or sheep wool, the bumblebees are more likely to use it as a home.
However, Nabu advises against burying the flower pot for bumblebees. Clay flower pots in particular can draw too much moisture from the soil and make it wet and uncomfortable for the bumblebees inside. It is therefore better to place a flower pot nesting aid in a dry spot on a stone wall.
The field bumblebee's nest on August 9th, 2019. Pictures 2 to 4 show the last shots in comparison. Within the last 15 days, new larval cradles have been placed on the old brood wombs of bumblebees that have already hatched. The old brood boxes are used as storage for honey (reflection of the light shows the liquid). There seems to be enough food. In the meantime, new broods have been recruited from the larval cradles. The warts with the transparent lids (bottom middle-right) will hatch shortly. When checking the nests, I continued to see relatively few mites. You can access the video e.g. B. see a point moving on the Kabok at the top left. The old Queen Lilly II is also still alive. It is (still) the largest bumblebee, which is watching the action in the middle-right above in the video. bumblebee worker bumblebeeworker fieldbumblebeebombuspascuorum bombus pascuorumcommoncarderbee bumblebee bumblebee bumblebee bumblebee bumblebee nest nestinghelp homemade hummelbox hummelhouse nistcontrol
A post shared by Robert (@hummel.world) on Aug 11, 2019 at 7:43am PDT
Remove bumblebee nest
Basically, if you discover a bumblebee nest in your garden or on the wall of your house, you should be happy. On the one hand, bumblebees are extremely valuable for the garden: they perform an important pollinator task, are far more effective than honey bees and balance the pollination of early and late bloomers. On the other hand, with their round, funny appearance and their deep hum, they are likeable visitors and spread the summer atmosphere.
The moderate size of the nests and the low aggressiveness of the animals also make it quite easy to get along with them. It's not the case that a bumblebee's nest stinks - stinging bumblebee nests that develop an unpleasant smell usually come from hornets.
Remove yourself?
Removing or destroying inhabited bumblebee nests on your own is taboo. All species of the genus are under strict protection under the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Anyone who intentionally harms the animals, captures them or even kills them, or destroys a bumblebee nest that is still inhabited, must expect high fines. You shouldn't simply close the entrance for animal welfare reasons, but also because you'll encourage the bumblebees to sting.
If you are concerned that children living in the household could be at risk from the bumblebee colony, you should make compromises. It certainly can't hurt to introduce children to the usefulness of bumblebees with appropriate guidance to exercise caution. To prevent curious small children who are not yet able to control themselves well from coming into contact with a bumblebee's nest in the garden soil, you can simply cordon off the corresponding area for the season.
It is usually not necessary to have a bumblebee nest removed. In any case, because of their smaller colony size, lower aggressiveness and less intense stings, they do not pose such an acute danger as large colonies of honey bees or wasps.
If you absolutely want to have a bumblebee nest removed, you must obtain official permission and hire an expert due to existing species protection. Anyone who can remove a bumblebee nest is, for example, a beekeeper or an employee of a local nature conservation association. The costs for this result from the effort required to reach the nesting site and the size of the colony. Normally you have to expect around 100 euros.
You can also save yourself the costs and effort because a bumblebee nest is not kept for several years. So you don't need to worry that the spot will be populated by bumblebees again the following year. If you want, you can dig up an orphaned bumblebee nest in winter to prevent other insects from nesting there.
A bumblebee's nest usually does not pose a danger
Relocate bumblebee nest
A bumblebee nest should not be relocated on your own initiative because they are protected. So you have to hire a company to do the job, which consequently costs money. Therefore, you should ask yourself the question: is it really necessary to relocate the bumblebees? Bumblebees are extremely peaceful animals and often only sting if you step on them. When relocating, the bumblebees are sucked in, placed in a nesting box and released again at another location. The whole thing takes several days to weeks. Sounds complicated? It is. So think carefully about whether it's worth the effort and cost.
The genus of bumblebees
Zoologically, bumblebees belong to the true bee family and are summarized under the funny genus name Bombus, which fits their character all too well. Within this genus there are around 70 different species in Europe, 36 of which are native to Germany.t
In the garden, insects fulfill a very important pollinator role and are therefore particularly valuable for garden owners who cultivate fruits and vegetables such as zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkin or strawberries.
Excursus
Bumblebees as pollinators
Their method of pollination even makes bumblebees interesting for commercial fruit and vegetable cultivation. By creating shock-like vibrations to shake the pollen out of the flower when collecting nectar, the flowers of tomatoes, strawberries and other commercially important plants are particularly evenly and completely pollinated, resulting in symmetrical, good-looking fruits. This is why entire bumblebee colonies are increasingly being used as pollinators in greenhouse operations. Their cold resistance makes them attractive as helpers in the pollination of early bloomers.
| Art | Garden bumblebee | earth bumblebee | Meadow bumblebee | Bumblebee | Tree bumblebee | Stone Bumblebee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Light abdomen, black middle segment, a total of three yellow stripes on back and abdomen, workers 11 to 16 mm long | Light yellow bumblebee: light abdomen, black middle segment, a yellow stripe on the back and abdomen, workers 9 to 21 mm long; Large earth bumblebee: similarly colored, workers 11 to 17 mm long | Orange abdomen at the back, black middle segment, two yellow stripes, workers maximum 14 mm long | Reddish-yellow middle segment, abdomen with many thin stripes in gray and black, workers 9 to 15 mm long | Middle segment rusty orange, black-greyish abdomen, workers 8 to 18 mm long | Very dark appearance: completely black with red-orange abdomen, workers 12 to 16 mm |
| nesting habits | Above or underground, but usually near the ground: in abandoned mouse burrows or bird nests, in stables or even in attics | Underground in the moss and herb layer, preferably in abandoned mouse burrows | Mainly above ground in hedges or stone crevices | Above or underground in very variable habitats: in meadows, forests, close to people, gardens, parks. Nests in abandoned mouse burrows, bird nests or nesting boxes, in attics, in garden houses etc. | Above ground, e.g. in abandoned bird nests, rodent burrows, rock crevices or in roof trusses, sheds, stables, etc. | More underground, according to the name, often under piles of stones or walls, but occasionally also in abandoned animal burrows and bird nests or in stables in the straw |
| Frequency | Very common | Relatively common | Moderately common | Common | Relatively common | Very common |
| Key identifying features | Typical bumblebee look, three stripes | Typical bumblebee appearance, two stripes | Comparatively small | Softly shaded, gray-black striped pattern on the abdomen | Rust brown fluffy back | Overall dark appearance, bright reddish-orange rump |
Bumblebees and their life cycle
Bumblebees go through a similar annual cycle to honey bees or wasps. It can be roughly divided into the following stages:
1. Awakening of the queen from hibernation
2. Nest founding and first egg laying
3. Growing a worker population
4. Raising sexual animals and mating5. Withering away of the state
1. Awakening of the Queen after hibernation
Bumblebees are early risers of the year. In contrast to honey bees or wasps, only the mated young queens overwinter. They wake up from their winter torpor in February and set out to gain strength and look for a suitable place to found a state. This is possible because they are able to heat up their flight muscles through vibrations. This means that queens can fly at frosty spring temperatures from 2°C and workers from around 6°C and not like honey bees only from around 12°C.
2. Nest founding and first egg laying
After waking up from hibernation, the young queen is busy looking for food. She finds them in the flowers of early bloomers such as willows or alders. The sweet pollen strengthens them and prepares them for their task of building nests. Depending on the species, bumblebees choose different places, sometimes underground and sometimes above ground. Many people choose, for example, abandoned mouse burrows in the ground, cavities in piles of stones, an old bird's nest or even a birdhouse.
Bumblebees work tirelessly
3. Growing a Worker Population
After forming the first brood cells, the queen lays the first eggs. Larvae hatch from this in the form of small maggots, from which the first workers develop after a direct supply phase by the queen and pupation. Similar to honey bees and wasps, they then take over the work of finding food for the next clutch of eggs, while the queen spends the rest of her life in the nest. There she warms and feeds the growing larvae and continues to lay new eggs until there is a sufficiently large base of workers.
4. Raising sexual animals and mating
The first sexual animals will be produced from July. To do this, the queen stops secreting pheromone, which previously ensured that only workers emerge from the eggs. Male animals and fertile young queens are now forming for the first time. When these have grown into complete insects, they leave the nest to mate.
5. Withering away of the state
After mating, the bumblebee colony dies off pretty soon. Workers and drones are no longer needed and die while the mated young queens look for a place to overwinter. As a rule, a bumblebee nest is orphaned by September.
Here is another detailed insight into the year of the bumblebee state:
What does a bumblebee nest look like?
In contrast to the nests of other colony-forming stinging insects such as honey bees or wasps, bumblebee nests are not constructs made of papier-mâché-like wood pulp material. Anyone who discovers such a typical balloon-like prey in a niche in the roof trusses or in a shed is more likely to be dealing with wasps, most likely with German or common wasps or with hornets. These species also like to nest in roller shutter boxes, window frames, in wood, under house plaster or in compost heaps.
Places in the apartment and house that are frequently frequented by people - such as areas near the window or the wall of the house, on the balcony or in the garage - are less attractive for the more quiet bumblebees. If they choose nesting places close to people, they are more likely to be in masonry, in less frequently visited sheds, in haylofts, under the roof or in the birdhouse in the garden.
To build the brood cells and the outer shell, bumblebees also use largely different materials than wasps. The breeding chambers consist of wax that they secrete from their abdomen. The animals create a protective and insulating outer layer of grass, moss, other plant fibers and hair around the longitudinally urn-shaped conglomerate of cells, which they glue together with wax and honey. Since they are usually located in the ground, bumblebee nests are usually not really recognizable as a whole, self-contained structure, but rather as a bird's nest-like cave. The moss and hair material at the round opening adds to this impression. The waxy breeding chambers can be seen directly beneath the mossy outcropping.
Bumble bee colonies are also generally smaller than colonies of honey bees or social wasps. A bumblebee colony only has around 50 to 600 individuals - the social wasp species that are common in this country can number up to 7,000 animals per colony at the end of the season.
Let's summarize the most important identifying features of bumblebee nests:
- Mostly not recognizable as an externally complete construct, more like a bird's nest
- Typical places are existing cavities, especially mouse burrows, nesting boxes or niches in sheds or in the attic, in the hay
- Brood cells created from wax are closed with an outer layer of moss, grass and hair stuck together with wax or honey
- Places such as roller shutter boxes, window frames, balconies, compost heaps or house walls are not typical for bumblebees
- not as populated as wasp states
Here you can observe life and activity in a bumblebee's nest from the inside:
Bumblebees as popular figures
Bumblebees are valuable companions, and not just from a gardening perspective. The fluffy, pleasantly humming little animals also have a lot of potential for sympathy. This is partly due to their funny, cuddly appearance, but also due to their nesting habits. The rather small size of their colonies and the bird's nest-like, cozy style of their homes, in which they scurry around humming, make the bumblebee's nest the namesake of many daycare centers and after-school care centers. Who hasn't come across a 'Kita Hummelnest' or a 'Hort Hummelnest' while driving through the city or looking for a place to care for their children?
When it comes to cuddly toys, bumblebees, along with bees, always like to represent the extended family of stinging animals. No wonder, because if they didn't have such a formidable stinger on their abdomen, you would still like to just cuddle the fluffy, brightly colored animals in real life
Bumblebees are also a small physical miracle: for a long time it was a mystery to science how they could fly given their large body size and relatively short wingspan. Today we know that their wings generate air vortices and the necessary lift through a rapid beating frequency.
“Just fly like a bumblebee, even if you can’t actually fly according to the laws of physics.” Ebo Rau, German physician
Frequently asked questions
Are bumblebees dangerous?
With their rounded stature, their fluffy hair and their leisurely way of moving, bumblebees generally appear more harmless than the more agile bees or the nimble and offensive wasps. And that's actually not a deceptive appearance. At least as far as the stitches are concerned. Bumblebees, like all real bees, are stinging insects and have a stinging apparatus with a poison bladder. However, they rarely use it and for various reasons the effects are not as devastating as with their relatives:
On the one hand, the stinger - unlike honey bees - does not get stuck in the puncture site due to the lack of barbs and therefore cannot empty the entire contents of the poison sac into it. Accordingly, a bumblebee sting is usually less painful and does not swell as much. Often it remains a small, reddened area with a white area that only becomes moderately thick and is not particularly painful or itchy.
If the sting goes deeper and the bumblebee is not immediately removed from the puncture site, more venom can of course be injected and pain, redness and itching can be similar to a bee or wasp sting.
People who are allergic to insect venom must of course expect more severe reactions to a bumblebee sting and, if necessary, call an emergency doctor.
Bumblebees are not aggressive when it comes to stinging behavior. They only use their stinger for defense in emergencies, especially if they feel confined or their nest is being attacked. What is particularly special about bumblebees is their extensive advance warning strategy, which gives the attacker the opportunity to retreat in time: before they actually sting, they first raise one middle leg towards the threatener. If that doesn't help, the next warning level comes: The bumblebee lies on its back, extends its stinger directly towards the attacker and hums loudly. Only if this warning is not received will the knife be stabbed.
By the way: The drones, i.e. the male animals, do not have a stinging apparatus in bumblebees.
How to attract bumblebees?
Bumblebees are extremely valuable pollinators in the garden. Fruit and vegetable crops such as zucchini, pumpkin, cucumbers, strawberries, cherries or tomatoes in particular benefit greatly from the hard-working fluffy insects. That and of course their friendly character is enough reason to attract bumblebees to the garden.
The best way to do this is to create beds with decorative flowers that bumblebees are particularly fond of. What they fly on in the truest sense of the word are corn poppies, phacelia (their common name is significantly bumblebee flowers), types of clover (especially white clover, meadow clover or horn trefoil), viper's head, knapweed, cornflowers, sunflowers, nasturtiums, monkshood, lupins, hollyhocks or knight's psorn.
Basically, a bumblebee-friendly garden should be as natural as possible and free of insecticides and herbicides. This is essential if you want to welcome bumblebees. As nesting aids, you can, for example, set up a nesting box or create a decorative pile of stones. When it comes to nesting aid, it makes sense to plant traditional plants that bumblebees like to feed on.
