Suitable nesting places are in great demand for small
creatures. A birdhouse, built by a friend using old bee hive lumber, hangs on
the porch railing of our home. Each year there is considerable competition
between finches, wrens, bluebirds, and sparrows for the use of this nesting
box. This spring, sparrows won the battle and reared a clutch of baby birds.
After the fledgling birds left the nest, bumblebees moved in. Typically,
bumblebees live underground in abandoned mouse nests. Unlike honey bees, which
have colonies containing thousands of members, bumblebees establish small
colonies of several dozen bees. Bumblebees collect nectar and pollen from
flowers, and inside the bumblebees’ nest they build small honey pots to hold
their food stores. Bumblebees, like honey bees, are gentle insects; however,
they both defend their nests from intruders by stinging. When gray squirrels
started gnawing at the entrance to the bumblebee colony’s birdhouse home, the
bees came out in force. Bumblebees attacked and chased all squirrels and
songbirds in the vicinity. They also chased humans from the area. Protected by
my beekeeper’s protective veil and gloves, I removed the bumblebee nest from
the birdhouse. The disturbed bumblebees persisted in continuing their attempt
to drive me away. While bumblebees ignore the touch of a bare hand while they
are foraging on flowers, one would surely not want to handle their nest without
protective gear!
A trap-door arrangement on the birdhouse allowed me to remove
the sparrows’ nest intact. The bumblebee nest filled a vacancy in the center of
the soft bird nest material. Today’s photo shows the neat wax honey pots and
pollen stores. Bumblebees have longer tongues than honey bees; thus they are
able to forage on flowers with deeper, bell-shaped coronas. They carry pollen
in pollen baskets on their hind legs. They have a stinger without barbs.
Bumblebees are important pollinators of crops and wildflowers, but they don’t
produce a surplus of harvestable honey. They are used to pollinate tomatoes
grown in greenhouses.
--Richard
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