Need advice on hosting bees in our yard

11 years ago

Hi Folks

We
maintain a NWF-certified wildlife habitat on our property (~1/4 acre) in the
Chicago burbs which is replete with 8 birdhouses, a bat house (no users), a
butterfly house (no users), several seed and suet feeders, a birdbath with a submersible
de-icer (Allied Precision, 200W) for the winter months. I planted a lot of
native woodland plants, several prairie species and fruit and nut trees/shrubs.
So we have various birds nesting here (house wrens, chickadees, cardinals,
finches, mourning doves) during summer and several downy woodpeckers roosting
in the birdhouses during winter. Our yard attracts a lot of nifty insects too (check this out: Insects in our yard)

While this is satisfying, I want to do something for the bees
this year. Would you please give me some pointers on setting up a hive for honey bees
(not for honey but just a place for them to live & nest during the season)?
I looked up the mason bee hive setup with the cardboard tubes – do they work
well? Can I do something for bumble bees too?

Any help would be appreciated!

TIA

Shyamala

Featured Answer

sharon's florida

11 years ago

a bumblebee hive is all well and good as long as it's far enough away from human activity. several years ago we had a bumblebee hive take over an old mouse nest under our front deck. all was well and good for a few months until the population became so large, or they became possessive, that we were not able to walk out our front door, or front yard, without being swarmed, attacked, and stung by them. it became quite dangerous. i had two small dogs at the time that were being attacked as well. i have always made places for the bees, and all other pollinators, but this was just insane to have hundreds of bumblebees pour out of the ground and attack us anytime we went outside our home. it was really frustrating because we had more than a dozen acres of natural property with many areas for them to inhabit, but they kept us from using the front of our house. they seem to be similar to yellow jackets ... once the nest becomes large you can't even make a vibration any where near the nest or they will attack.

i suppose if you had them on your property away from traffic areas, but even then i would be wary if you had to work or visit the area.

i have carpenter bees burrowing into my benches, decks and upright beams and since they are solitary they have no problem with me being around them and i don't mind the wood damage because i appreciate the pollinators. they fly around me when i sit on the front porch and they seem very docile.

i had a honey bee colony in a hollowed out hickory on the back of my property last year, but haven't seen them this spring and i miss them. it was right next to a walking path and they never bothered us or the dogs as we went by on our daily walks or even when i worked in the yard or cleared brush near them. i even put out sugar water for them in the winter and would sit right next to the sugar soaked sponge and visit them as they came to get a drink. they were very docile and most enjoyable to have around and observe.

top bar honey bee hives are similar in structure to a hollowed out tree, but horizontal. you can set up a top bar hive on blocks or a wooden frame and i bet the bees would find it and you would enjoy having them around. just be aware of their flight path and don't put your hive where they have to fly across a path, your back porch, your deck, or wherever, to go to their nectaring spots. if you could find some that were affordable, and put them a safe distance from traffic areas the honey bees may make a home and stay on your property to pollinate your plants.

enjoy the pollinators.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

docmom_gw
11 years ago
Yes, the Mason bee tubes do work very well. Many bumble bee species nest under ground, so need an area of bare soil. Often they will reuse a burrow dug by rodents. There are instructions on line for creating an underground box/nest for them. Try the Xerces Society. They have lots of great links. Honey bees aren't actually native, and aren't as efficient at pollinating as bumbles and other wild/native bugs. But, I agree, it would be so cool to have a swarm choose to visit your place. One of the most important things to do for bees is to have pollen and nectar sources blooming in your yard throughout their active season. This can be done using a combination of native perennials and flowering shrubs, or with long-blooming annuals, like zinnias, lantana, pentas, salvias, sunflowers, etc. Good luck.

Martha
ggopal
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, Martha. I will get the mason bee tubes and dedicate a section of bare soil for the bumble bees. I have several flowering shrubs, trees and perennial plants (mostly natives and also some non-native annuals) to keep the insects happy. I will check out the Xeres Society site for more info.

Shyamala
Related Professionals
Quincy Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Miami Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Petersburg Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Jonesboro Landscape Contractors · Bowling Green Landscape Contractors · Aiken Landscape Contractors · Lawrence Landscape Contractors · Longview Landscape Contractors · Magog Landscape Contractors · Elizabeth City General Contractors · Williamsburg General Contractors · Worcester General Contractors · Temecula General Contractors · Colorado Springs General Contractors · Logan General Contractors
purslanegarden
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Always have wondered about the bumble bee. I don't see any bumble bee hives or honeycomb type of structures. Glad to know they are underground somewhere.

If you are handy with wood making, you could probably make some mason bee homes, too.

Also, here is a forum at GW about Bees and Beekeeping
s8us89ds
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
While it's nice to set up artificial wildlife features, it's even better to set up natural, self-propagating, sustainable wildlife features that require no human intervention. The artificial ones last only as long as there are humans willing to maintain them. And when humans inevitably lose interest, the wildlife become stranded, having learned nothing but perhaps to seek out more human assistance. In our wildlife gardening, we should always to re-create or mimic nature as closely as possible.
PRO
FWC Consulting
11 years ago
It looks like you have done some wonderful things in your yard. If you want something longer lasting than the cardboard tubes you could drill holes in to a log or piece of wood. I recently created one with a small log from the woodpile. I worry about cardboard getting wet and destroyed. You can also create a puddler that will benefit bees, butterflies, and other insects. I have seen many examples ranging from wet sand to marbles to rocks inside a bird bath or other shallow container. Basically it is like a bird bath but there is a surface for the insects to land on and they drink from there. An image search should give you lots of examples.