Bumblebee Removal Nassau County Long Island

Bumblebees are attractive giant black and yellow furry insects found in the north-eastern United States, which are of interest to scientists, beekeepers, conservationists, farmers, naturalists, home gardeners, children, and commercial bumblebee breeders. There are forty-six species of bumble bees in North America. Bumblebees are the only bees native to North America that are truly social. The collecting of pollen and nectar from flowers by bumblebees is a common sight on Long Island, but they can become a problem when nesting near Nassau County residences. Bumblebees generally nest underground in vacant rodent burrows, or even inside walls of Nassau County homes, or buildings. Bumblebees are not usually aggressive but will defend themselves or their nest with repeated stings when threatened. Skunks may attempt to dig up a bumblebee ground nest to eat the bee brood. Adult bumblebees are preyed upon by beewolves and robber flies. The stinging ability of bumblebees may render them as pests by many. However, like honeybees, these bees are also essential pollinators that contribute to agricultural food production. The primary crop pollinated by bumblebees is the tomato. Bumblebees are of importance in the pollination of green pepper, strawberries, eggplant, and cantaloupe in green-houses and, to a lesser extent, cherries, almonds, and plums in open farms. Bumblebees are capable of flight in cooler temperatures and lower light levels than many other bees.

Bumble Bee Life Cycle & Reproduction - Long Island, New York

A bumblebee colony is composed of 3 types of individuals (queen, sexually undeveloped female workers, and males, which are called drones). Bumblebee nests are constructed in the spring by solitary, overwintered, fertilized queens. After selecting a site, the queen bee will build a nest and lay six to eight eggs that hatch into worker bees in four to five days. The queen bee will raise the first brood of workers on pollen and nectar collected from flowers. It takes approximately 21 days to develop into an adult bee. Following the rearing of the first brood, the worker bees will provide food and nourishment to the bee larvae and defend the colony while the queen bumble bee shifts her efforts to producing eggs. Over the summer, the nest may produce fifty to four hundred worker bees. Worker bumblebees have a life span of four to six weeks. The bumblebee colony produces new queen bees and drones in the latter part of the summer, which will leave the nest to mate. The successfully mated queen bees will hibernate two to five inches deep in the ground soil. Drones and worker bees die off at the end of the season, while dormant fertilized queen bees survive to repeat the cycle.

Carpenter Bee Appearance:
Carpenter bees have a bare, shiny abdomen that is all black. They measure approximately one inch in length. The thorax of some carpenter bee species is yellow; other species have a white, black, brown, or blue chest.

Carpenter Bee Nests:
Carpenter bees construct their nests in wood, drilling a hole and then turning ninety degrees to excavate a tunnel in which to lay eggs.

Carpenter Bee Colony:
Carpenter bees are solitary bees and don't form bee colonies. They live in small nests constructed by one female who bores into the wood to lay her eggs in several small cells.

Carpenter Bee Habits:
Carpenter bees hover around soffits, decks, eaves, and wooden fences to excavate a nest or feed the bee larvae inside.

Carpenter Bee Aggression:
Male carpenter bees will aggressively dive-bomb anyone who approaches the nest, but can not sting. Female carpenter bees can sting a nest intruder.

Bumblebee Appearance:
A bumblebee's head, thorax, and abdomen are hairy. The chest has a thin yellow band, and the stomach is yellow and black. Bumblebees can range from .75 inch to 1.5 inches in length.

Bumblebee Nests:
Bumblebees typically build their nests in the ground.

Bumblebee Colony:
Bumblebees are social insects that live in colonies of fifty to four hundred bees. There is one queen bee, and the other bumblebees collect food to serve her and care for the developing young.

Bumblebee Habits:
Bumblebees visit flowers to gather pollen and nectar.

Bumblebee Aggression:
Female bumblebees will guard the nest and will sting an intruder repeatedly without losing their stinger.

Bumble Bee Removal Nassau County, Long Island

Carpenter Bees vs. Bumblebees