Right at the start of lockdown I noticed quite a few bees flying about our neck of the woods and I thought well at least the bees are ok. There's been a lot of talk about bees having a rough time the last couple of years. Anyway, fast forward to last week or thereabouts. The wife and I were sat out in the garden in the evening by the wood fire enjoying a few bottles of red wine, as you do. Every now and then, a bee would buzz by and go behind us. My wife, being inquisitive like women are, watched where they were going. They were going into the compost maker which was just behind our settee. Sure enough there is a hive and you can hear a faint hum from it. The last bee came in just before it went dark. Anyway, I was wondering what is going to happen to the hive over winter. Will the bees die off and the queen hibernate ? Will the queen move off or stay in the hive ? Will the queen die ? Does anybody know what happens ? I don't want to destroy the hive or pinch the honey but I do think they should be paying rent.
If bumble bees they'll be gone within 6 weeks if honey bees they don't hibernate and you should call the local bee inspector and they will rescue them any problems finding the number my wife keeps bees and knows the chief inspector hth
Had a similar problem a last year and a neighbour who is was a bee keeper identified them as White Tailed Bumble Bees and said they will most probably go of their own accord after a 4-6 weeks which they did. https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/white-tailed-bumblebees/white-tailed-bumblebee/
Thanks all for your replies, even the corny ones. They are bumble bees so I suppose they'll buzz off in a while. I didn't know they didn't make honey, I thought all bees made it. Oh well, you learn something every day.
Bumble bees do actually make honey, but their colonies don't number into the tens of thousands like honey bees, usually they max out at about 40/50 in a nest. Just as with honey bees, the young larvae are fed with honey, but although they are obviously much bigger than honey bees, the amount of honey they store isn't anything like a Honey Bees nest or hive.
