We discovered a large colony of bumblebees living in the mulch at the back of our house. I’ve spotted other ground hives before (e.g., yellow jackets) but never bumblebees. The picture doesn’t include any of the drama, but there are numerous entrances hidden in the bark. They depart to visit the flower garden and return visibly laden with golden pollen on their rear legs.
never seen a ground hive like this – thanks! Hope you get to watch them work and they don’t bother any humans!
They’re pretty docile, so I think we can coexist just fine. Might put a little fence around the area.
My college had a tree in the middle of the quad with a huge honeybee hive in a hollow. They put a wrought iron fence around it with a little plaque: “The Honeybee Tree.†Always seemed like a good way to handle such things.