[Hazerj]

Just an observation, but this spring in south central Massachusetts, I am seeing a lot of bumble bees. More than usual and others who are not beekeepers have also mentioned it . Is this observed anywhere else?

Is there a correlation between bumble bee and honey bees?

Opinions please.

 

[78-79fordman]

I have seen a ton also

 

[drlonzo]

Are you positive that they are actually Bumble Bees? There is another bee about the same size that everyone is seeing quite a bit called the Carpenter Bee. Looks the same yellow and black but wizzes around all the time. Seems to float at times and will agravate you if you are near it. Bumble Bees tend to work the flowers without even noticing you are there and they are bigger but just slightly.

 

[Zbee]

Living in New England too, I have seen a great deal of bumblebees out this spring. They seem relatively peaceful and make their homes in the ground. I have a suspected bumblebee nest near my honey bee hives, but have not seen them cause any issues.

 

[marshmasterpat]

Not sure which bumblebee species we have that is aggressive, but every so often we bump into a "ground bee" that is very defensive of the area around their hive. We have multiple species of bumblebees here, so I don't know if it is just one species that is aggressive, or if it is like honey bees and some hives are aggressive. And maybe it is during drought that they act this way.

I have found several while on tractors, one while on a 4 wheeler, and 2 from pickups. I would rather have 5 honey bee stings than one of these. They physically hit hard and then you feel the intense sting. And they can come in numbers. It is cool to hear honey bees bumping windows when mad, but it is sort of intimidating to hear these guys do it.

Zbee - So I would mark that nest and give it are rather wide berth during drought. I love the bumblebees but darn they hurt.

 

[lazy shooter]

I was just commenting to my wife this past Saturday about the amount of bumblebees in the wild flowers around our Weatherford home. Our bumble bees are very domestic and do not sting unless provoked. They live in the ground along fence rows and once their nest is disturbed they are very aggressive with a bad sting. They sting multiple times.

Marshmasterpat, is it possible that your really ill tempered bumble bees are yellow jackets or you East Texan's call them, ground hornets?

I like to watch bumble bees.

Lazy

 

[tsmullins]

Just an observation, but this spring in south central Massachusetts, I am seeing a lot of bumble bees. More than usual and others who are not beekeepers have also mentioned it . Is this observed anywhere else?

We have noticed a unusual number of Bumble Bees this year as well.

Shane

 

[TheBuzz]

Yes and I have an enormous bumble who feeds from the feeder.

 

[marshmasterpat]

Marshmasterpat, is it possible that your really ill tempered bumble bees are yellow jackets or you East Texan's call them, ground hornets? I like to watch bumble bees.

Lazy - These were bumble bees. The nests were disturbed or the area around the nest was heavily disturbed. Usually drove a tractor, truck, or ATV over it or some fool walked over them. And once they are mad they really do not calm down fast.