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Bee Information
Bees are regarded as beneficial insects. Their collection of pollen
from flowering plants is of great value by assisting in the
evolution and distribution of flowers by transferring pollen from
one to another.
There are two main
groups of bees in this country, social and solitary.
Solitary bees are
by far the largest group with over 200 species. In this country they
have such a varied lifestyle that it would not be possible to cover
them all. Therefore, we will try to explain the life cycle of
Mortar, Mining, Bumble and Honey Bees only.
Mortar & Mining Bees
Description
Both these species
of bees vary in size and colour and are generally hairy. They look
much like Honey Bees.
Distribution
Solitary bees nest
close together giving the impression of communal life, however, each
female lives alone. Mortar bees excavate a chamber approximately
20mm deep in soft mortar joints in brick walls, whereas mining bees
excavate chambers in the soft sandy soil of lawns and gardens. The
chamber is stocked with pollen and nectar and eggs are laid. The
chamber is then sealed.
Life Cycle
The eggs hatch to
produce a larvae, which feeds on the pollen and nectar before
pupating. The pupae hatch to produce a bee. This process may take a
whole year to complete and the parent will have died before the
offspring emerge. Adult mining and mortar bees only live for a short
time each year normally from April-July. These bees often get
confused with wasps in the early spring. However they are not
aggressive and do not sting.
Control
The use of
insecticide to control mining bees is not successful as insecticide
breaks down with UV light. Also it does not destroy the grubs or
pupae as they are in sealed chambers.
Practical Advice
-
It is only in severe cases that bees cause
significant damage to walls of property as the chambers they
excavate are only about 20mm deep, compared to the mortar between
bricks, which are approximately 100mm deep.
-
Re-point soft mortar during late autumn.
Bumble Bees
Description
Bumble bees differ
form other bees in that they lead social lives, with many adults
living and working in a single nest. Bumble bees seen in the garden
in early spring have been hibernating during the winter. They are
all young Queens who will spend the next few weeks eating pollen and
nectar before seeking nesting sites.
Distribution
Most bumble bees
make their nests on or under the ground taking over old nests of
mice and voles. South facing hedge banks are favourite sites.
Life Cycle
Inside the nest the
Queen constructs a chamber of fine grass and other material. She
secretes a wax from glands on her abdomen to make a small cup like
cell in the centre of the nest. The Queen partly fills the cell with
pollen and lays a number of eggs in it before roofing it over with
more wax. At the same time the Queen makes a wax honey pot in which
to store honey for when she is unable to forage due to bad weather.
As soon as the eggs hatch the Queen opens the cell to provide the
grub with more pollen and honey. The grubs pupate in a silken cocoon
and approximately one month after the eggs are laid adults emerge.
These new bees are all females, smaller than the Queen and their
reproductive systems are not fully developed. They are the workers.
The Queen remains in the nest after this and busies herself by
making more egg cells and laying more eggs. Several batches of
workers are produced in this way during the summer and the bee
colony may grow to more than 300 workers.
After a time the
Queen's ability to lay eggs falls off and fewer larvae are produced.
The ratio or workers to larvae increases so that they get more food.
The extra food causes these larvae to develop into new Queens
instead of workers. At the same time the Queen lays some
unfertilised which although develop in the normal way give rise to
male bees. Males and females leave the nest to mate. The males will
die shortly afterwards. The fertilised Queen will then find
somewhere to hibernate over winter. The old Queen and workers will
all die by the end of the summer leaving the hibernating Queen to
continue the species for another year.
Control
Bumble bees are not
aggressive providing they are well left alone. It is unwise to
destroy bees without first considering an alternative method of
control.
Honey Bees
What do they
look like?
Honeybees are approximately 1.5cm in length and light brown
in colour. They are social insects in that they live in a nest which
may contain several thousand workers.
How do you spot
them?
Honeybees often cause concern in late spring or summer when
a Queen (normally the old queen) produced by the bee colony leaves the original colony
accompanied by several thousand workers. This behaviour referred to
as "swarming" is concerned with establishing a new nest site, so the
new Queen can rear her own brood. When she settles on a tree or
other support she is surrounded by a protective ball of bees. This
swarm usually only lasts for a day or so. Although people may be
frightened of a swarm, as long as it is left alone it will move on
peacefully.
How do they
live?
The eggs of the bee are laid only by the Queen. She lays one
in each cell of the nest. The eggs hatch into tiny larvae, which
grow rapidly. Five days after hatching the cell is covered by the
adult worker bees that were nursing it. In the sealed cell it
changes into a pupae and by approximately 21 days later it will have
changed into an adult bee. It will chew through the cap of the cell
and emerge.
How do you
control them?
Wild bee colonies are under threat from a virus (Varroa)
which is passed on by mites living in bee colonies. It is, therefore
not wise to destroy bee swarms unless they are considered dangerous.
There are alternative methods of control such as seeking the help of
a beekeeper to remove the swarm. |
