Wild bees

[rowantk]

Has anyone ever spotted a wild bees nest? Just curious as Ive never seen any on my walks locally. A few wasp nests mind.....standing on these isn't wise :/

[shepherd]

not in a long long time mate... there is a chap around here who has hives and he is always asking if people have seen any as he put them in his hives..

[Pootle]

I often see nest activity. The nests themselves tend to be concealed but you will see a lot of coming and going from the entrance when the weather is good. Are you thinking of any bee in particular?

[rowantk]

Not thinking of any particular bees.......well I don't know any breeds! :P Im not sure if there are many 100% wild bees left are there? Or are wild bees exactly the same as the honey bees used by keepers? I mean most the swams seen are surely 'domestic' bees from man made hives? Bumblebees on the other hand Im sure with a bit of bee tracking I could find a nest.

Surely someone on here has experience with bees? It something, once I get the resources, time and space I want to get in to.

[Pootle]

If you're talking honey bees then your right, any colony you come across will be feral; ie it will be the daughter colony formed when a beekeepers colony swarmed.
honey bees are only one species of bee though and we have a lot of native species in the wild in Britain.

[Pootle]

Here's a bit of info on nesting sites from bbct.
http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/habitats/bumblebee-nests/

[rowantk]

Good info on the bumblebee, thanks. This is interesting also. It seems the native honey were 'dark'......I remember now seeing a project in a local attraction where they are trying to breed and establish a population of these in Cornwall :)

http://bees.me.uk/Bees/Welcome.html

[Pootle]

Yeah the cornish black bee. although I think I'm right in saying that it's the same as the french black bee but be careful who you say that to!
There is at least one beekeeper here that specialises in them. nice little bees they are too!

[rowantk]

I see....maybe the French bee is the same as the Cornish Black?!....;) It would be nice to hear of more people getting hives established. Its one thing Id like to one day get into :)

[Pootle]

There may well be an active bee keeping group near you. Some groups will have buddy systems to mentor you through the learning curve.

[rowantk]

Ive looked at courses at a local college so think it may be worth a go :)

[Pootle]

Definitely worth getting some kind of instruction. there's a lot to learn and a few decisions to make about what kind of beekeeper you want to be. If you take the plunge then it would be good to read about your progress.

[rowantk]

Will do! :)