Bee Rescue and Conservation

Bee Identification

For most people its not normal to need to carry out bee identification, to know the difference between a bee and a wasp or a bee and a hover fly, or a honey bee and a bumble bee.
Between May and August we often get calls about bees which are in fact native bumble bees, nesting in compost heaps or under peoples decks, they are the larger furry species and are best left alone, they die back in winter.
We also receive an enormous number of calls describing Tree bumblebees a recent import from Europe, whose success has been staggering (probably at the expense of something native). It seems that every year we receive more and more calls about these. Our recommendation with these is to remove and relocate the nest, only where they can not be accessed should the use of insecticide be considered.

If you see a swarm of bees hanging on a tree or bush they are actually waiting for scout bees to report back with news of a permanent home, and will often leave in a few hours or days, they are unlikely to be aggressive if left undisturbed. We are always keen to hear of these and recommend contacting your local bee keeping associations swarm liaison officer

Below are some images to help you distinguish between bees, wasps and hornets.

We do our utmost to save the honey bee and re-home them, so if you are in S.E. Wales or somewhere in the South West just give us a call on 02922 401649 and we will happily capture the bee swarm for you and relocate it to a new home and provide it with food supplies to give it a good chance of survival.

Wasps and hornets

Wasps and hornets do not collect pollen so won’t be seen taking it back to their nest attached to the back of their legs like a honey bee does as seen in the image at the top of the page ~ only honey bees do that. So if you see bright yellow or white lumps on the legs this will help in bee identification. On the other hand wasps are often seen carrying grubs back to a wasp nest either in their mandibles or between their legs.

Wasps are usually a litle bit larger than honey bees and are commonly found pests at picnics and outdoor catering areas. Wasps and hornets are omnivores and will eat both your sandwich and drink your pop. Wasps will nest in a variety of locations, they can be found nesting in the ground, garden sheds, thick bushes attic spaces and the list goes on. At the end of summer as the nest is dying they tend to become more aggressive as food for the workers is no longer produced in the nest and sting more frequently.
The biggest separator in bee identification is that wasps have bright yellow stripes whereas honey bees have dull banding this helps a lot to separate the two in bee identification.

Bumble Bees

• Bumble bees are the gentle giant fuzzy bees. They are very docile and not inclined to sting.
• They make small wax pots to store small quantities of nectar. They primarily nest underground. They help to pollinate the flowers in the garden and do not cause problems.
• Bumble bees collect pollen and attach it to their back legs, in the same way that honey bees do.
• Bees are perfect pollinators and important to the natural cycle that puts food on our tables.

Other Bee Types

Below is a picture of a Mason bee on the left and a Mining bee to the right

 The Honey Bee

 The Honey Bee

Below is a picture of a honey bee and to its right a swarm of bees that have settled in a tree

The Honey Bee

A honey bee swarm generally consists of thousands of bees all clumped together or moving on mass.

The Honey Bee

A comparison of the smaller honey bee to the left and the larger furry bumble bee to the right

Solitary bees

If you have solitary ground bees in your garden then really you are one of the fortunate ones as they are wonderful pollinators and important to the natural cycle helping to provide us all with the food on our tables.

Bee Removal and Rehoming

Most local swarm collectors will collect your honey bee swarm free of charge or for a small donation to cover the cost of fuel and to assist in the relocation and feeding of the bees.

However if the beekeeper is unable to assist then we can help, we specialise in resolving the bee relocation problems that others can’t.

Honey Bees in Roof

Generally speaking honey bees don’t colonise large roof spaces, when they are flying in beneath tiles they more often than not are colonising a cavity wall or an old dismantled chimney stack that is hidden beneath the tiles. But they love dormer windows and flat roofs

Learn More

Honey Bees in Chimney

We attend more chimney honey bee removals than we do of any other type of honey bee removal or cutout. We don’t need to dismantle the chimney, we rarely remove more than 4 individual bricks. When honey bees occupy a chimney space it is usually one of three scenarios or a combination of them.

Learn More

Honey Bees in Wall

We remove bees from walls and we can do it without taking them down or knocking huge holes into them. We remove the bees the wax & the honey. Rarely do we need to remove more than 8 bricks, which we remove whole so they go back as they were.

Learn More