Bees Nest

The variety of bees nest world wide is just as varied as the variety of bees. There are 20 000 species of bees, with various sub-classifications found within these species. There are honey bees, ground bees, solitary bees and colonial bees. Each type of bee has a favorite location and building materials.

Only honey bees manufacture wax, which is used in building honey combs which are used by the bees for laying eggs and raising young, for storing pollen and honey. All other bees have to rely on their resourcefulness in finding or building nests. Bee nests can be found in wood, between walls, in trees, in the ground, using leaves, mortar and even regular bee hives. Solitary bees will create a tunnel, and in this tunnel will make a cell, into which the egg is laid, and provisions stored for the larvae. The cell is then sealed, after which most females will abandon the nest, to make more nests, and the larvae will hatch and grown on its own.

In some species, communal nests are not uncommon. A number of females will share the same tunnel, each constructing their own cells, in which she lays her own egg. Another type of bee community, is where a great number of bees live in close proximity to each other. They are still solitary, not sharing tunnels.

The most well known nest is of course the honey bees’ hive. The hive consists of many honeycombs, which are constructed with wax. Each cell in the honeycomb is a hexagon. These cells are either filled with pollen or nectar (honey), or the eggs are laid and young are raised there.

When the present nest of the honey bees becomes to small, or food becomes scarce, the honey bees will either send a new swarm to a new home, or a portion of the old swarm will go off to make a sure colony. The swarm will be made up of a queen, her drones and the worker bees. Once the scouts have secured the location, the other bees will follow them to the new site. They will have to hurry to start construction of the nest, and  the collection of  pollen and nectar, and the laying of eggs. The new colony will not survive if they do not manage to collect enough of these for the first few months.

To identify a nest, it is important to look at which bees are seen in the vicinity, what they look like, and what the pattern is of the bees is. Are they solitary, or are they in a colony. Once the bee has been identified, it becomes easier to determine whether the inconvenience is worth the effort that eradicating the bees will cause, and will negatively impact the environment. Remember that the bees and the bees nest, are valuable to farming operations and impact positively on the pollination of crops and the environment.

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There are more than 20 000 species of bees worldwide, and as a result, there is a huge variety when we look at a bees nest. Bees nest in trees, the ground, between walls, in hives and generally in any place where they feel safe enough to nest.

Some bees, like the honey bee, will build an elaborate nest, which is inhabited by a whole colony. The basis is made up of wax combs, which are used for laying the eggs, raising the larvae, storing pollen, and making and storing honey. Most bees are however solitary, and live in nests inhabited only by one bee and her offspring, for a while. Solitary bees do not usually make honey or wax, and therefor do not build combs.  Their nests consist of a variety of building materials. For instance, the carpenter bee will bore a hole into wood, the leafcutter bee constructs a nest out of leaves, and the ground bee excavates a tunnel in the ground. Some solitary bees find a hole or hollow in reeds, twigs, or reeds.

Most solitary bees will create some sort of tunnel, at the bottom of which they construct a cell, into which they lay their egg, and store enough provisions to supply the larvae with enough food as it is growing. Most solitary bees do not stay to look after their young. In most solitary bees the females are fertile, and are thus able to remain on their own, where they can breed and have their own young .

Another type of nest that is seen in some bee species, is a communal nest. Here the female bees will share a tunnel, but each makes provisions for her own offspring. When the female lays several eggs in the tunnel, the last eggs to be laid, those closest to the entrance, are generally males, and the emerge first, and are ready to mate by the time the females emerge.

Honeybees will often form a swarm, consisting of a virgin queen, males and workers, in search of a new nest. This can be because the colony has outgrown the old nest, or when food becomes scarce. Sometimes the whole colony will swarm. A swarm will at first send out scouts to find a new location. Once a new location has been selected, the swarm has to work quickly to establish the new nest, make honeycombs and fill the stores with pollen, nectar and honey. Without sufficient stores in the new nest, they ill not survive the winter.

When finding a bees nest, it is important to not immediately feel the nest needs to be eradicated. By identifying bees, and the bees nest, it becomes easier to encourage the good bees to remain in an area, where they prove to be valuable to agriculture and pollination.

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