My ground bees left!

14 years ago

Why? I wanted them to stay. I started a garden about 40-50 ft. from them but I didn't use anything loud. Just a shovel,hoe and rake. No chemicles at all. Cow manure mushroom compost. I veered around them on the rare occasion I went that way. What would make them leave. The nest looks really big and three days ago they seemed happy enough to live there. This may sound silly but....Do they make honey? Is there a chance they might come back? If not, would I do any harm to dig and look at the inside of their old nest?

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Comments (6)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
14 years ago
I don't know of any ground bees that make honey. By the way, are you certain that these weren't yellow jackets? How many were there, approximately?
splashangel
Original Author
14 years ago
They were not yellow jackets. And they were not aggressive at all. Several hundred I'm sure. I really cann't give a good guess. The nest was the only sandy spot in the yard. Everywhere else is grass. Lots of pencil sized wholes. I THINK they MAY have been cicada killer bees. I really wanted them to stay. We were going to avoid cutting the grass for a few feet around them.
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
14 years ago
Cicada killer wasps are solitary; they never make a communal nest with several hundred (or even several) members. Were these bees or wasps very large, and that's why you thought of the cicada killers?

What is your general location?
splashangel
Original Author
14 years ago
I never got close enough to get a good look at them. I can say they didn't look anything like a bumble bee. More on the wasp end. They were kinda long instead of round. They were not dirt dobbers. I did go investigate the nest though. I noticed they went in when it rained. It was a light rain so I continued working but they disapeared for the rest of the evening.I took from this that they don';t like wet. All the yard has plenty of grass except that one spot. It is sandy and round shaped. pencil size wholes all over the place there.No ant hill like patterns. A friend was helping build our chicken coop and he walked right in the middle of the nest with them swarming. He said they were ground bees and would sting when we mowed( his mouth ain't a prayer book though so who knows) but we decided to just not mow there. They didn't even attempt to sting him. I live in North Florida. Bout 2 hours from Georgia. Thanks for the interest. I'd really like to know more. In fact I joined a Bee site the other day but it is about honey bees. Not much help in this case.
jean001a
14 years ago
Sounds like native solitary bees.

If so, they're "gone" because their nesting season has been completed for the year. They lack stingers because they don't have a hive to protect. Even though you have many "pencil holes" in the ground, the bees weren't nesting in the same place. Instead one hole per bee; the chambers below ground where their young will develop into adults, then emerge next season.
splashangel
Original Author
14 years ago
Oh no! My boys, out of all the yard, went and sat right in the middle of it and were playing. When I saw them I ran them off it and explained to them that I was hoping the bee's would come back. The next day I noticed it was sunk in a little. Within the next three days it caved in alot. Tomorrow I will put blocks around it and I hope it's not to late. Thank you for answering and any further help is welcome.