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Re: Bumble Bees



YankeePerm@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Bumble bees like hollow places in which to nest, such as hollow logs.  We
> once had a big nest in an galvanized water tank that I had scrounged to cut
> off the ends for a culvert.  They flew in and out of the small holes for pipe
> inlet/outlet fittings.  Maybe they also nest in abandoned burrows in the
> ground--I don't know about that.  If you have a woodlot, leaving dead trees
> is a good idea for all wildlife.  Maybe you can make a nest site out of old
> tanks or piples or something.  They can be mostly covered with leaves for
> insulation and aesthetic purposes.  Bumblebees overwinter only as fertile
> queens.
> 
> If I were to set out to increase their numbers, I would get to the library
> and read up on 1) any success with artificial nest boxes, 2) any information
> on territories.  It would be pointless to put out 100 nest boxes for them if
> they have a range of one colony per square mile, to choose an obvious
> exaggeration. 3) Any habiatat modification that will improve the abilities of
> queens to overwinter.  We had about 20 of these tanks and I've only noticed
> once over severall years when they were used.
> <snip>
	A good source for information is the book titled
"Bumblebee Economics" (the author's name is not in my memory).
	In it is quite alot about the economy involved in being a 
bumblebee.  It has info regarding nest creation, foraging range for some 
species, and more.



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