Since the bad weather my bumble bee infestation has disappeared?

Since the bad weather my bumble bee infestation has disappeared?

Bumblebees are not as active in the rain?

This all comes down to the time of year obviously  if it’s the depth of the winter and  you’re unlucky enough to have a bumblebee nest which is highly unlikely the bad weather and cold can kill the nest.

Bumble Bee

Now if you’re talking about early spring and we have had a little bit of a warm spell then all the sudden normal UK weather we have a couple of days or if we’re unlucky weeks of rain then no the bumblebees will still be there.  What normally happens in the rain is the temperature may drop causing the bumblebees to stay inside their nests until they have to forage for food.

A bumblebees life cycle

In early spring when the  temperatures warm up the Queen wakes up from hibernation she has normally been asleep under the ground using her reserves of fat that she Cycles into energy helping her Haber deep sleep.

When she first emerges from her hibernation she tends to feed on flowers taking in as much nectar as she possibly can.  Once she has fed and restart her energy she will start to then look for a nesting site this could be a bird box a hole in the ground anywhere really she feels comfortable and safe to make her nest.

Nesting sites

Once she has found the perfect nesting site the Queen then starts to gather pollen for her nest. She then creates man’s off wax and pollen and then decides to lay her first brood of eggs the Queen keeps the eggs warm by sitting on them, shivering her body which in turn provides heat for The eggs.

The larvae normally take around 2 weeks to develop into a cocoon after that they develop into adult bees.

Early summer

The first lot of eggs have developed and hatched they are all females some will work inside the nest someone work outside the nest Gathering pollen and nectar some even guard the nest. From this point, the sole job of the Queen bumblebee is to lay eggs.

Late summer

 Late in the summer months, the Queen bumblebee starts to lay male eggs to sustain the Colony also she will produce new queen bumble bees.  The male bee is once hatched from the eggs generally never return to the Colony they will feed on pollen and nectar whilst looking to meet with Queen’s from other bumblebee colonies.

new queen bumblebees mate once they  have left the Colony after they have mated they will feed on pollen and nectar in ready for the winter hibernation Queen’s only survive through one winter.

If you’re unsure whether you have a bumble bees nest you can always give us a call.