Pest Control - Bees

Honey Bees

There are approximately two hundred and fifty species of bee, although only thirty species form "social orders". One of these is the honey bee. The bee is a member of the vast order known as Hymenoptera, the most intelligent and organised of the insect world.

Honey bees are social insects with a strict caste order with queen, drone and worker, all having a specific function within the community. The bees travel from hive to flowers during good flying weather gathering pollen and nectar, using it as a food source for themselves and for other members of the colony. It is this trafficking from flower to flower that is so beneficial as it pollinates many flowers and trees.

There is only one queen bee per hive during most of the year. In appearance she is slightly longer in the body than the worker but has noticeably smaller wings and she possesses a sting. The queen's purpose is solely laying eggs in the cells made by her workers and never leaves the hive in search of pollen and nectar. She is fed food, called bee-milk or chyle by nurse bees.
Within the honey bee's strict caste order the queen is at the highest level and is shown a great deal of respect by the worker bees. They follow her wherever she goes allowing her clear space to walk in the congested hive.

Drones are fertile males. They have much the same appearance as worker bees but are slightly longer, and do not have the ability to sting. They, like the queen, do not collect pollen and nectar and take no part in the production of honey or construction of cells. In fact after the 'swarming' period is over, they die or are put to death and no more are allowed to develop until the following spring.

Workers are slender and small occurring in great numbers in the bee colony. They are the labourers of the bee world, undertaking many duties in the hive, including collecting pollen and nectar, constructing cells, tending the queen, guarding the hive and nursing the many eggs and grubs (pupae). They are not normally aggressive but possess the ability to sting.

Swarming Bees swarm together in late spring and early summer usually around the months of May and June in order to produce new colonies. Bees swarm when there is competition in the hive from a new queen produced in the cells by the workers feeding ordinary worker pupae on a secretion called hypopharyngeal, commonly known as Royal Jelly.

This prolonged feeding allows the common worker pupae to emerge as a Virgin Queen, who is a direct threat to the existing breeding queen, disrupting the strict social order. When this occurs a swarm of bees leaves its present colony in search of a new location. When they find a suitable site they form a tight mass of bees with the queen guarded in the centre. It is this massive cohesion of bees that many people are alarmed by, seeing them clinging to bushes, trees, fences etc.

It is 'Best Practice' not to kill Honey Bees and you are advised to contact the National Beekeepers Association for further advice on 02476 696 679.

Oxford City Council's Pest Control Team do not treat for Honey Bees.

Bumble Bee - Bombus SPP

Bumble bees are commonly seen in spring and summer time. All the fairly large bumblebees seen flying in early spring, are overwintered queens busy feeding and searching for nesting sites. Some bumble bees nest in cavities underground, whilst others nest on the ground in rough grass or moss. The nest comb and brood-cells are made from a waxy material produced by the bees from special wax glands on their bodies and the whole nest is covered and protected inside a ball of dead, finely shredded grass, moss, animal fur or similar materials.

The smaller bumblebees seen foraging on flowers through most of the summer are workers. The queen rears the first brood of workers herself, but then the worker bees take over this duty whilst the queen devotes herself to egg-laying.

Bumblebees feed on pollen and nectar and rear their grubs on the same diet. Towards the end of the summer bumblebee colonies produce males and new queens. The males do not work in the colony and quickly leave the nest to search for, and mate with, the new young queens from the colonies. Once fertilised the young queens also abandon the nest to start their winter hibernation. Male bees die after mating, and when young queens have departed, the rest of the colony soon perishes and dies.

Bumblebees can sting, but rarely do so except in their own defence and usually only if actually handled. Generally bumblebees are quite docile and non-aggressive and go about their business with little attention to human activity. If you disturb a nest when gardening simply leave and the bees will soon repair any damage.

Control

There is no real justification for destroying bumblebee colonies. Mostly they go unnoticed, but a small inconvenience due to the position of a nest is more than repaid by the immense value of these insects as pollinators of many flowers and plants.

Oxford City Council's Pest Control team do not treat for Bumble Bees.

Mortar Bees - osmia rufa

Mortar bees, or Masonry bees, are so called because they sometimes burrow into the mortar joints in brick walls or will occasionally use crevices in walls. There are a number of different species of bee that do this, but the most common has the scientific name of Osmia rufa.

Appearance and History

In appearance these bees are not unlike ordinary honey bees, and share the same soft brown and yellow colouration, as opposed to the bright yellow and black of the wasp, which mortar bees are often confused with.

However, all mortar bees are solitary and do not form the distinct social colonies that we associate so much with honeybees and common wasps, although they may be found close to each other since they exploit suitable nesting sites.

The natural habitat of mortar bees is earth banks and soft exposed rocks into which the female bee burrows. She builds a series of tunnels or galleries in the spring in which to lay her eggs from which the new adults emerge in the spring. Only one such brood is raised each year. They will only be seen for a few weeks in the spring.

Prevention

The only effective way of preventing these bees is to repoint areas of soft and perished mortar as the bees can only burrow into comparatively weak materials. The joints should be raked out to a depth of 15mm (0.58in), and re-pointed with a mortar that is not too strong for the bricks, but hard enough to discourage the bees. Mortar bees will also lay eggs in old drilled holes in brick work and gaps around window and door frames.

This work is best done in late summer, after the bees have ceased their activities but before the possibility of frost damage. Spraying or injecting insecticides does not have any lasting effect, and is only recommended in those rare cases where bricks or stonework have been entered.
Mortar bees are not aggressive, they have a sting but are unable to pierce the human skin and are therefore harmless and more of a nuisance insect.

Oxford City Council's Pest Control team do not treat for Mortar Bees.