one for the apiarists

[CWH]

I keep seeing 'a' bee going into a particular place, carrying something as big as itself and bright green. I thought at first it was a small caterpillar but now wonder if it's a bit of leaf.
Why would it/ they be doing this?
Any knowledgeable information out there please @DBK & others?
[West Norfolk area.]

 

[DBK]

That's an easy one, it cuts leaves so it's a...Leaf Cutter Bee!
They use the bits of leaf to stick together to make cells in the way honey bees use wax to build their honeycomb. There are a few different species so the one illustrated may not be quite yours but like a lot of bees and wasps they are hard to identify exactly.

 

[jollyrodger]

One of the things about Fun a wealth of knowledge

 

[CWH]

Thank you @DBK - will it get angry if its disturbed?
Does it leave (no pun intended) at some time?
I ask, because it's going under the canvas cover on a garden BBQ that I think someone will want to use soon .....
Should I remove the cover to discourage it?

 

[Don Quixote]

@Broken Link Removed depends if it like a nice burnt burger.......... joking aside I would not think there would bee ! a problem

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[CWH]

Thank you gents.
I have to say after all these years I don't recall ever seeing a bee carrying a leaf before.

One of the things about Fun a wealth of knowledge

You're so right JR, who needs google? - we've got Funsters

 

[DBK]

Thank you @DBK - will it get angry if its disturbed?
Does it leave (no pun intended) at some time?
I ask, because it's going under the canvas cover on a garden BBQ that I think someone will want to use soon .....
Should I remove the cover to discourage it?

They should still be around for a few more weeks. Once they have laid their eggs in the cells the adults will die off and the new bees will emerge next summer.

The bees are more or harmless and won't sting unless seriously stressed like perhaps trying to handle one but the sting is not supposed to be very painful.

Difficult to advise what to do without knowing where they are nesting. They will probably be going into some gap somewhere, possibly nesting in one of the tubes of the BBQ legs? If you can leave them alone or live with them this would be much better but if you can find out exactly where they are nesting then note it and next year look for the young adults emerging then block up the hole or holes after they have gone. The bees are solitary but can nest together - we had a house many years ago where they nested in the wall under a window and leaf-cutter bees were flying in and out of a gap more or less continually. It looked like there was some sort of giant communal nest in there but each bee had its own nest - a bit like a sea bird colony. Where conditions are right they will nest in the same place. Which may be small comfort if you are sitting eating a sausage on the flight path to Beethrow Terminal 5.

 

[CWH]

That's brilliant @DBK , not just useful but so interesting too, thank you.
It's not our house so I'll pass the information on and the owners can decide how to handle (or not handle) it!

Beethrow Terminal 5

I like that

 

[CWH]

@Broken Link Removed depends if it like a nice burnt burger.......... joking aside I would not think there would bee ! a problem

Thank you DQ, good to know that pets & people will be safe

 

[Bailey58]

Don't mind bees @CWH but we did have a wasp nest over the rear door to the garage a few years ago, it was almost the size of a football and I can't imagine how we didn't see it growing larger by the day. Suitably clad I sprayed it with foam and stood well clear. Look closely and you may still see the outline.

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[CWH]

Two years on...

This is in my back garden in Cornwall, I think I have leaf-cutter bees in residence, don't you? (PLEASE don't tell me it's something else! - unless it is, of course...)

This was from 2015 in Norfolk as in the posts above. Plucky little blighter!

 

[mitzimad]

we had them in some flower pots we had hanging on a wall they make a little rolled up parcel from the leaves they had a taste for roses

 

[Gromett]

hich may be small comfort if you are sitting eating a sausage on the flight path to Beethrow Terminal 5.

 

[Anthea M]

We had a wasps nest in our old BBQ a few weeks ago I could see the white ball through the gap . As Rob suffers anaphlactic shock if stung we had to get pest control out. They said it was the start of one but the nest would have drown considerably bigger had they been given time.
They obviously love a good barby

 

[old-mo]

one for the apiarists;
...................................

I`m not a lover of Monkeys...

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[denisejoe]

Watched a leaf cutter last week sat for 1/2 hour watching whilst having a beer,made me feel tired

 

[tonyidle]

My wasps nest from last year. On the inside of my shed double doors:

The cluster of insects to the right of the nest is over-wintering ladybirds.

 

[CWH]

I've had a few wasps nests - aren't they amazing structures? - but I didn't know ladybirds did that.
Every day a school day