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24-03-2006, 03:55 PM
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Bumblebee nest box
Just bought one of these (I guess now I've seen it I should have attempted to make my own
 ). I did a bit of reading on the Net about them first so with the knowledge that apparently they are unlikely to be (sic!) successful I thought I'd ask if anyone else had tried them?    
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24-03-2006, 03:58 PM
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No never tried them but did construct a cheaper version just made out of bamboo stack lashed together in a roll to create mini openings along the length and I looked at one last week and it was housed with ladybirds.
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24-03-2006, 03:59 PM
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I made them for solitary bees, it takes time but if you have loads of blue flowers they will come - bees can see blue in the spectrum and love it.
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24-03-2006, 04:03 PM
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Yeah, even I managed to drill various size holes in a small block of oak for solitary bees - its fascinating to watch the holes 'disappear' with a plug of mud one-by-one!
Ah the bit about blue is interesting - cos for the bumblebee box I read that you should make a 'target' out of the entrance so they see it - might try blue paint!
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24-03-2006, 04:06 PM
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Quote:
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24-03-2006, 04:06 PM
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A nice blue flower, we're getting all arts and crafts.
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24-03-2006, 04:08 PM
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If you have loads of flowers you'll have loads of bees. They love dahlias (I grow them from seed evey year) and the bumble bees love autumn flowering sedum. Last summer we got invaded by a swarm of bees and had to get a bee keeper to come and take them away. He reckoned it was a small swarm of about 12,000. It was all very excitment making at the time.
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24-03-2006, 04:08 PM
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I cut old bamboo into 10" lengths and lashed them together (roughly 9-15 in a bundle) with string I then put these 'parcels' in various places (1) trees in the boughs, (2) at the base of a clematis plant, (3) by a jamine trellis, (4) by a fence in my herb bed. Seemed to have worked and recycled my old bamboo which was either broken or useless.
Bees adore borage and blue delphiniums, they also love hyssop. Last edited by Lesley Jay : 19-04-2006 at 03:35 PM.
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24-03-2006, 04:13 PM
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I think 'swarming bees' are honeybees. Bumblebees are different I believe?
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24-03-2006, 04:14 PM
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24-03-2006, 04:18 PM
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Of course, Pimms and borage, I love freezing the flowers in a ice cub trays. I can still have them in winter or else I couldn't possibly drink Pimms! It would have to be rhubarb schnapps then.
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24-03-2006, 05:32 PM
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Does anybody have a plan for a bumble bee nest box that they could post, I think that they have two chambers but need to know sizes and hole dimensions.
__________________
Kindest regards, David. http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/ updated Monday 28th April at 11.50hrs
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24-03-2006, 05:58 PM
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Bumblebee nest plans
I thought I ought to have had a go but I've not got the patience.... From other stuff I've read the success rate of them being used depends as much on where they're sited as anything else. Try and site them somewhere you see bumble'ees looking for a nest - bottom of hedges, long grass, etc.
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24-03-2006, 06:06 PM
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Thanks very much for that
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Kindest regards, David. http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/ updated Monday 28th April at 11.50hrs
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24-03-2006, 06:19 PM
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24-03-2006, 07:38 PM
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Another website - think the plans are the same, but with slightly different info?
Bumblebee nest box Here is a very interesting site I've just found, this actually has videos of bumblebees and one of a bee 'accepting' a nest site (for vids see page 3). Bumblebee videos Last edited by smallblueplanet : 24-03-2006 at 07:48 PM.
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24-03-2006, 07:46 PM
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Bumblebee boxes can be hit and miss, you just need to site them well, herb beds are good and also flowers that attract bees. See:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basic...nic_bees.shtml
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24-03-2006, 08:04 PM
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Andrew check out the link to Bumblebee videos (above) - a german site with bits in english, they actually show a queen accepting an artificial nest. There's lots of info about nests and how to get bumblebees interested.
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24-03-2006, 08:36 PM
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they nest under my Silver birch most years. I guess its warm & dry there.
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ntg Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/ ==================================================
The All New Home page of Hartshill Allotments full of useful bits http://www.hags.btik.com
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