Unlike honeybees, for example, all members of the bumblebee colony die in the fall and only the mated young queen survives the winter. It leaves its winter quarters in early spring and looks for a nesting place. If you would like to help the big boys found a new colony, you can offer the animals a home in your garden.
How can I introduce bumblebees to my garden?
To attract bumblebees to your garden, create insect-friendly green spaces, provide nesting boxes or nesting sites, and place bumblebee houses in the right place. Make sure you have suitable plants, protection from wax moths and sufficient food supplies nearby.
The bumblebee-friendly garden
Design green spaces in a variety of ways and ensure that the bumblebees also find suitable places for their nests. A few areas left to their own devices, insect-friendly planting and a lawn where flowers are allowed to bloom provide food and a home for many animals.
Offer nesting boxes and nesting places
Many species of bumblebees build their nests in holes in the ground, for example in abandoned mouse holes. Cracks in stones or the gaps under the pile of wood are also often populated.
In addition, you can set up a nesting box (€49.00 on Amazon) for bumblebees, which you can get ready-made in stores or make yourself. The Hummelheim should have the following properties:
- You can choose between above- and underground bumblebee houses.
- Buried houses must be constructed in such a way that water cannot run in.
- It shouldn't get too warm in above-ground dwellings.
- The home offered must have a bumblebee flap and protected ventilation holes. This prevents wax moths from nesting, which would destroy the entire nest.
- Underground bumblebee houses must have a sufficiently long tube as an entrance.
Setting up the bumblebee house in the right place
Bumblebees are a little demanding about where the new state settles. It is important to have a good supply of food that can be found near the bumblebee's nest. Bee-friendly and therefore also bumblebee-friendly plants should be found in abundance.
- For an underground nest, choose a quiet spot in a corner of the garden. Even in heavy rain there should be no waterlogging.
- Bury the house and lay the pipes so that the queen bumblebee can easily crawl into it.
- Drape moss and stones around the entrance so that the animals can recognize the hole as such.
Tip
If you find a debilitated bumblebee queen in spring, you can actively help the protected animal. Use a piece of paper to carefully pick up the fluffy creature. To strengthen him, offer him some lukewarm water in which you have dissolved half a teaspoon of sugar.
