Is this a bumble bee?

[alisa]

I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of bee is now living in my wooden bird house. After spending an hour searching the internet, thought I’d see if maybe someone here knows…

The nesting material looks like stringy pencil shavings. The bee looks like a bumble bee (fuzzy black and yellow) but has a couple of orange stripes on its back/abdomen. Quite cute, doesn’t seem to be aggresive. Just trying to figure out if I should remove it. I would rather leave it alone because I’ve read that bumble bee nests are annual, would rather let nature take its course.

Thanks!

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[TDe]

Wow… I’ve got one of those as well. It’s big like a bumble bee but has mostly yellow and orange on it. I moved the wooden bird house a couple of days ago and it flew out and buzzed me, but didn’t seem overly aggressive. I put a metal bird house in the same place and it took up residence in that and is still in there as far as I know. I’d be interested as well.

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[Ken]

http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/tricolored-bumble-bee-bombus-ternarius/

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[alisa]

Thank you, Ken! These bumblebees gets to stay!

“It turns out this bee is a tricolored bumble bee, also sometimes called “orange-belted” for obvious reasons… They are considered to be superior pollinators because they will collect pollen even in cold or wet weather…”

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[service dog academy]

i saw one too on my wysteria flowers. i was so excited i did a little happy dance. i remember seeing bees all the time while growing up but they are a rare sighting now a days.

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[Ken]

I have hundreds of ground nested bumblebees in my yard in summer(ok so I don’t mow as often as I should) and I have seen a few queens this spring. Most of mine are the traditional yellow and black so far, but I will keep an eye out for the tricolors.

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[anonyme]

This is a beautiful bee. I have quite a few of them in my yard, in addition to the Mason bees I foster. I allowed last year’s kale to flower & the bees love it! I would just be aware of one thing: they will nest under siding and possibly in wall cavities; I had some do this a couple of years ago. However, this is no reason to go crazy and start killing these gentle and valuable pollinators! I contacted a bee expert (not an exterminator) and he recommended waiting until fall when this species goes dormant/dies, and then just plug the hole.

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[me on 28th Ave SW]

Cute! Wish they’d hang in my yard.

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[Author]

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