Hmmm...I'm wondering if I could make my own bee house by cutting equal lengths of thickish bamboo and tieing them all together into a bundle? If I cut them so there is a joint at one end (where it's blocked) that should work shouldn't it?!?

How deep are the holes on your box Amethyst and how wide are the holes?

At our last house I had a ladybird box in situ for a couple of years. Trouble was, whenever I looked inside it, it was just occupied by earwigs, spiders and woodlice!

You can even get butterfly hibernation boxes too which I think is a great idea, as long as the spiders don't get there first of course

This post was last modified: 12-07-2007 10:24 AM by Caz.

That sounds like a brilliant idea to me . It would be especially nice if you were able to recycle old bamboo stakes which were too splintered to use as stakes.

Kingfisher

This post was last modified: 12-07-2007 04:05 PM by Kingfisher.

I think the tunnels are around 12cm deep and 1cm wide.

Construction out of old bamboo canes sounds like a great idea - A lot of ones I've seen for sale seem to be exactly that, and the tubes vary in width.

Still haven't caught any photos- I had one last night and it flew off just as I was about to get it in the view finder!!!!

Right, that's it, I'm going to make one tomorrow! I'll get a pic of my efforts when it's done.

Thanks for the sizes Amyethyst. I do however have more questions - does it matter where you site the box? eg. south faceing, east, west whatever, and how high off the ground etc. or doesn't it matter?

Have you any ideas of what species of bees are being attracted to your box yet? (even if you can't get a piccy!).

How did the construction go?

I think bee boxes are usually placed on the floor.

Well I went out to the garage yesterday and all the canes I have have too much pulp in the middles as they're new. I did spot some old ones under loads of junk by the side of the garage which could possibly be used, but it was raining all bloomin' day yesterday and I couldn't be bothered to shift everything to dig them out (and get wet in the process!).

'If' it stops raining later today (don't hold ya breath!) I'll get onto it ok

Well so much for my theory they had stopped work for the season - yesterday I saw a bee going in! I lay in wait, camera poised, to snap it on the way out and it was way too quick for me! I got a lovely photo of a wooden box!

I still dont know what species it was - I'm pretty sure it wasn't the everyday bumble bee - it didnt seem that plump or fluffy!

I got a nice shot earlier of two different bees sharing a flower pic attached (fingers crossed!). Havent had time to identify the one on the right of the picture, but not one I have seen often.

This post was last modified: 14-07-2007 04:47 PM by Amethyst.

Hi Amethyst!

I've got a brilliant link for you:

http://www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co...ees_id.htm

I'm sure you'll find your bee in that lot! That's a lovely flower they're sitting on - what is it? Looks like something from the allum family unless I'm mistaken.

I did saw up some old bamboo canes today and tied them all together with garden wire. I'm letting them dry out atm as they were sodden, then I'll put some roofing felt or similar round them to keep them dry Pic's to follow.

So, any tips on where to put my effort then?

This post was last modified: 14-07-2007 07:12 PM by Caz.

hehe - the little one on the right looks just like a regular honey bee

I have never got them close up before, I thought they were browny all over rather than having the paler orange stripe in the middle. (or on the other hand, maybe the ones I always call honey bees are actually solitary bees! lol)

I have sited my box a few inches off ground level as you can see in the previous pic. The main reason being I had a handy bit of wood there that I could affix it to! The border gets the sun in the morning and most of the afternoon - probably faces approx south east at a guess.

The info that came with the box says
"Site the box in a warm visible place ideally to catch the morning sun. It is helpful to have soil nearby and food sources such as flowers, orchard and fruit.

Timing
The solitary beehive/insect habitat can be sited at any time of the year. solitary bees will use it from Late February onwards but other beneficial insects will use it for over wintering and habitat"

This website is also recommended for further info..
http://www.ibra.org.uk/

Though I must admit it is quite a scientific one with access to journals and abstracts etc. Not got loads of pictures like the bumble bee site

The FAQ on that site suggests the bee box is placed in a sunny spot at eye level eg under the eaves of a garden shed.

The bees in the pic earlier today are sharing a globe thistle flower. Here is another at the passion flower.

Good luck with your bees Caz!

My new thing learned for the day:

"Another reason bumble bees are important pollinators is their behavior of buzzing, or sonicating, flowers that require this behavior for pollination. For example, tomatoes and some other flowers in that plant family don’t produce nectar but the bees visit them anyway in order to collect pollen, which they do by vibrating their wing muscles (making a buzzing noise) to shake pollen grains out of the anthers."

[from the USDA Forest Service website]

Yes, nice photo of the bees on the flowering allium, too.

Kingfisher

OK, I'm going to put it 1/2 way up my arbour which gets the morning sun and is right next to my flower boarder which has a lilac plant which they also love. There's also a honeysuckle growing up the opposite side so that should help! If it dries out overnight, then I'll waterproof it somehow and put it up tomorrow

That Globe Thistle is stunning! (think I mis-lead you there Kingfisher )

It's not until you start delving into bees that you realise just how many types there are!

They are clever little things - I'd never heard of sonicating - that is a neat little trick they discovered

There was a theory that bumblebees defied the laws of physics, and in theory shouldn't be able to get their weight off the ground with the wing area! It has been disproved, but I developed quite a soft spot for bumblebees thinking it was true lol. Explained in depth on the QI forum ....

http://www.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=4...6ee556a4b8

Right, here's my bee house effort - no laughing please!



Thought I'd tie it to the left hand side of my arbour 1/2 way up.... what do you think? I'm still not sure how high to put it really, but Amethyst has had success with hers low down and the bee website says up high?!?



Found these rather interesting pics of how to make a bumble bee home in the soil using a terracotta plant pot and some mouse bedding or shredded grass inside. A piece of hosepipe can be used for the partially buried one.



It also says that for smaller bees drinking straws can be used bundled up and tied to trees or walls or stuck under windowsills. You can also drill variying hole sizes into logs for bee homes.

This post was last modified: 15-07-2007 11:00 AM by Caz.

That looks good Caz - I think they will soon move in! A bit higher up sounds like the way to go - Mine seem to have a preference for the penthouse suite so maybe they're telling me they wanted it higher lol!

As I was looking round the garden this afternoon I spotted two of the tunnels had some leaf matter at the ends - and closer inspection of my nearby roses (of a suspiciously similar colour!) revealed some non-standard leaf shaping !

I have been popping out frequently to see any further progress and not a thing - They are still busy - just not when I'm looking

Caz--it's a great effort! I don't think the bees will care, and here we would call that 'artsy' .

Amethyst--your bee house looks as if it is off to a good start.

Kingfisher