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Google
Bumblebee Castles
+2
Scorpio Rising
BeetlesPerSqFt
6 posters
Page 1 of 1
Bumblebee Castles
My bee-keeping next-door neighbor moved, so now I don’t have the excuse of worrying about too much competition or disease/parasite transmission by his honeybees, and I can encourage bumbles to live in my yard. I love watching bumblebees buzz pollinate my tomatoes and eggplants!
After a lot of reading I finally assembled bumblebeehives, shelters, boxes, ... castles and put three of them in my yard. I just started seeing bumbles this week, so hopefully they are queens, and still house-hunting. Here’s the main resource I used:
http://www.bumblebee.org/nestbox_plans.htm
I made my castles using:
- Big clay pot – I think it’s 10” diameter across the top
- Hardware cloth
- Chicken wire
- Plastic tubing
- Nesting material: from vole/mice nests, and cattail fluff
- Small flat-ish rocks
- Ceramic tile larger than the bottom of the pot
- Brick or heavy rock
- Wire cutters to work with the hardware cloth and chicken wire, and to cut the plastic tubing
Why a clay pot? The bees purportedly live in abandoned rodent nests (underground) and I’ve seen bumblebees nesting in stone walls. Terracotta seems much closer to earth and stone than wood, so I chose that option rather than a wooden box style nesting site. The drainage hole will act as ventilation – or maybe as an entrance. Some suggest covering the hole with glued in place polyester netting, to prevent ants and wax moths from getting in.
The hardware cloth goes under the pot to try to prevent predators like shrews from digging into the hive and eating the baby bees. The chicken wire forms a bowl to keep the nesting material somewhat enclosed while still allowing good potential drainage. The plastic tubing was free from the curb, but I’m not sure the diameter is large enough. A piece of old garden hose might have been better, but isn't something I had on hand. The length suggested online was “20 cm [8”] or more for a small flowerpot.” if the tubing isn’t big enough, the drainage hole at the top is also an option for the bees to enter/leave. I clipped two wires on the interior of the hardware cloth to thread the tube through it, and up through the chicken wire bowl and the nesting material.
Polyester stuffing and wool fibers are too long and tangle up the bee's knees. Nesting material from rodents was the most natural option, but a little hard to find, so I supplemented with cattail fluff since it has very short fibers. I wore gloves while handling the rodent nesting material (they like to nest under the straw protecting my strawberries.)
The rocks go around the drainage hole to rest the ceramic tile roof on, which prevents rain from going in, and block sunlight from shining in. The brick weighs down the roof so it doesn’t blow off. I tried to place my castles where they would not be in direct sun, with the entrance pipe pointing downhill so rain wouldn’t run in. This afternoon I see I need to move one of the castles, it will get too much sun later in the year. I put grass around the tube entrances, because bees like to explore piles of grass.
After a lot of reading I finally assembled bumblebee
http://www.bumblebee.org/nestbox_plans.htm
I made my castles using:
- Big clay pot – I think it’s 10” diameter across the top
- Hardware cloth
- Chicken wire
- Plastic tubing
- Nesting material: from vole/mice nests, and cattail fluff
- Small flat-ish rocks
- Ceramic tile larger than the bottom of the pot
- Brick or heavy rock
- Wire cutters to work with the hardware cloth and chicken wire, and to cut the plastic tubing
Why a clay pot? The bees purportedly live in abandoned rodent nests (underground) and I’ve seen bumblebees nesting in stone walls. Terracotta seems much closer to earth and stone than wood, so I chose that option rather than a wooden box style nesting site. The drainage hole will act as ventilation – or maybe as an entrance. Some suggest covering the hole with glued in place polyester netting, to prevent ants and wax moths from getting in.
The hardware cloth goes under the pot to try to prevent predators like shrews from digging into the hive and eating the baby bees. The chicken wire forms a bowl to keep the nesting material somewhat enclosed while still allowing good potential drainage. The plastic tubing was free from the curb, but I’m not sure the diameter is large enough. A piece of old garden hose might have been better, but isn't something I had on hand. The length suggested online was “20 cm [8”] or more for a small flowerpot.” if the tubing isn’t big enough, the drainage hole at the top is also an option for the bees to enter/leave. I clipped two wires on the interior of the hardware cloth to thread the tube through it, and up through the chicken wire bowl and the nesting material.
Polyester stuffing and wool fibers are too long and tangle up the bee's knees. Nesting material from rodents was the most natural option, but a little hard to find, so I supplemented with cattail fluff since it has very short fibers. I wore gloves while handling the rodent nesting material (they like to nest under the straw protecting my strawberries.)
The rocks go around the drainage hole to rest the ceramic tile roof on, which prevents rain from going in, and block sunlight from shining in. The brick weighs down the roof so it doesn’t blow off. I tried to place my castles where they would not be in direct sun, with the entrance pipe pointing downhill so rain wouldn’t run in. This afternoon I see I need to move one of the castles, it will get too much sun later in the year. I put grass around the tube entrances, because bees like to explore piles of grass.
BeetlesPerSqFt- Posts : 1440
Join date : 2016-04-11
Location : Centre Hall, PA Zone 5b/6a LF:5/11-FF:10/10
Re: Bumblebee Castles
OMG!!!! I love this! My bumbles are just so adorable! Thanks so much Beetles!
Scorpio Rising- Posts : 8687
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 62
Location : Ada, Ohio
Re: Bumblebee Castles
+1Scorpio Rising wrote:OMG!!!! I love this! My bumbles are just so adorable! Thanks so much Beetles!
Re: Bumblebee Castles
THis is amazing. I just showed my gf.. and we both thought of a whole fairy city where they use the bee's to fly around your garden. Paint some windows on those planters.. add a couple decorative things made from twigs..
Very brilliant idea, i may very well follow your instructions and try something on those lines..
Thank you.
Very brilliant idea, i may very well follow your instructions and try something on those lines..
Thank you.
Greenbeard- Posts : 97
Join date : 2017-03-06
Location : 4b zone minnesota
Re: Bumblebee Castles
That's a great idea! Need to save this thread for future reference.
suseine- Posts : 22
Join date : 2018-06-30
Location : LA, CA
Re: Bumblebee Castles
Beetles; did they like their castles????!!!!!BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:My bee-keeping next-door neighbor moved, so now I don’t have the excuse of worrying about too much competition or disease/parasite transmission by his honeybees, and I can encourage bumbles to live in my yard. I love watching bumblebees buzz pollinate my tomatoes and eggplants!
After a lot of reading I finally assembled bumblebeehives,shelters,boxes, ... castles and put three of them in my yard. I just started seeing bumbles this week, so hopefully they are queens, and still house-hunting. Here’s the main resource I used:
http://www.bumblebee.org/nestbox_plans.htm
I made my castles using:
- Big clay pot – I think it’s 10” diameter across the top
- Hardware cloth
- Chicken wire
- Plastic tubing
- Nesting material: from vole/mice nests, and cattail fluff
- Small flat-ish rocks
- Ceramic tile larger than the bottom of the pot
- Brick or heavy rock
- Wire cutters to work with the hardware cloth and chicken wire, and to cut the plastic tubing
Why a clay pot? The bees purportedly live in abandoned rodent nests (underground) and I’ve seen bumblebees nesting in stone walls. Terracotta seems much closer to earth and stone than wood, so I chose that option rather than a wooden box style nesting site. The drainage hole will act as ventilation – or maybe as an entrance. Some suggest covering the hole with glued in place polyester netting, to prevent ants and wax moths from getting in.
The hardware cloth goes under the pot to try to prevent predators like shrews from digging into the hive and eating the baby bees. The chicken wire forms a bowl to keep the nesting material somewhat enclosed while still allowing good potential drainage. The plastic tubing was free from the curb, but I’m not sure the diameter is large enough. A piece of old garden hose might have been better, but isn't something I had on hand. The length suggested online was “20 cm [8”] or more for a small flowerpot.” if the tubing isn’t big enough, the drainage hole at the top is also an option for the bees to enter/leave. I clipped two wires on the interior of the hardware cloth to thread the tube through it, and up through the chicken wire bowl and the nesting material.
Polyester stuffing and wool fibers are too long and tangle up the bee's knees. Nesting material from rodents was the most natural option, but a little hard to find, so I supplemented with cattail fluff since it has very short fibers. I wore gloves while handling the rodent nesting material (they like to nest under the straw protecting my strawberries.)
The rocks go around the drainage hole to rest the ceramic tile roof on, which prevents rain from going in, and block sunlight from shining in. The brick weighs down the roof so it doesn’t blow off. I tried to place my castles where they would not be in direct sun, with the entrance pipe pointing downhill so rain wouldn’t run in. This afternoon I see I need to move one of the castles, it will get too much sun later in the year. I put grass around the tube entrances, because bees like to explore piles of grass.
Scorpio Rising- Posts : 8687
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 62
Location : Ada, Ohio
Re: Bumblebee Castles
No tenants. I probably didn't put them out soon enough, but it could also be the tubing I used is too small, or my rodent bedding wasn't fresh/smelly enough. Or they may just not have liked the locations I chose. One of them is (too?) sunny early in the year, before the zebra grass grows and turns it very shady.
None-the-less, I have seen a few bumbles around the yard. They like the anise hyssop and red clover.
None-the-less, I have seen a few bumbles around the yard. They like the anise hyssop and red clover.
BeetlesPerSqFt- Posts : 1440
Join date : 2016-04-11
Location : Centre Hall, PA Zone 5b/6a LF:5/11-FF:10/10
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