ANTSTORE World of Ants

[highered]

I found a big queen bumble bee recently and I will put it in a test tube with some sugar and hope it lays some eggs and develop a nest. Does anyone have any ideas on how to care for bumble bees please plus isn't it unusual to find them at this time of year? Thanks

[Zagone]

I got a better idea. Find a rat-nest or so, take some of the fluff they've assembled.

Dig a hole in a cozy part of your yard, put in a flower-pot, the kind with a hole in the bottom upside down int the hole. Make sure to put the assembled fluff from a rat's nest in the pot first btw. And insert the bumble bee queen.

Rat urine is what attracts bumble bee queens, because they usually make their nests in old rat/rodent nests.

I realise this can be hard when it's all cold outside, but I'm fairly certain she won't like a test-tube.

[tail__]

Bumblebee young queens spend the winter alone in hibernation and try to make a new nest in spring (workers do not hibernate, they all die in autumn) All bees must collect pollen to have eggs and feed larvae. I don't think they can eat anything else as protein source. Bumblebees are often kept in artificial nests, they are used by gardeners to pollinate plants in greenhouses, so it shouldn't be hard. Although the test tube is definitely too small for this. Maybe find some bee keeper forum, I'm sure they could tell you more.

[Messorus]

Tail is true.... But I can complet his details by more informations... I was keeping bumble beeses of species Bombus terrestric(Common bumble bee) and I got some informations about them by their cultivator, from firm Vegakonti in Slovakia. He said me, that new young queen which was found somewhere on ground is best to be feeded by watter with honey, but not so much honey as you mix in honeywater for ants... The best thing is to put some dry bloom(Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar) into this honeywater, because bloom is the head food of bumble beeses...
For her keeping isn´t test tube very good, better to keep her in a box of paper or wood, 10cm long, 8cm high, 10cm deep.... There must be small bowl with water( best option is lid of PET bottle) for humidity, but water in spogne or somethink, in which queen can´t be drowned.... Other bowl have to constaint honeywater as queens food.... Queen usualy hybernates this time, so I think you´ve to put her into the fridge, but it´s your chose.... If you would like to keep her in the future, here is the best method of bubmle bee keeping, ,,Polish method": Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar Other ,,laboratory" method is to keep queen with fresh young beeses: Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar , but I think it´s a cruel.... They can´t fly much in this set- up....
Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar Here´s a link for my video of my bumble bee colony....
Here is lovely Bombus colony : Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar
And here is one very profesional and beautiful document: Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar

Sorry from my poor english

[highered]

Thanks for the replies, she was too big for the normal test tube so I've put her in a bigger tube. She didn't eat the sugar, but did drink from the moist cotton wool I gave her. I will buy her some honey which sounds like she might like and consider the bigger box option.

[tail__]

Remember she will also need protein food to lay eggs and feed larvae. Pollen can also be bought in bee keeper shops or in shops with "healthy food", it isn't expensive.

[Messorus]

Remember she will also need protein food to lay eggs and feed larvae. Pollen can also be bought in bee keeper shops or in shops with "healthy food", it isn't expensive.

Tail is true, but I must oponent him... Bumble bee are hard herbivores, they never wont eat any insects or meat for proteins. All necessary proteins is queen and her workers getting from pollen..... Better thing is to ask some beekeeper, I did, because pollen is usually very expensive in Bio or bee keeper´s shops.... Also, you need just one smaller glass of it, queen also wont eat it much more than few pollen balls.... I´m not sure if is tube good for her standing, they preffer decisive floor, where they can catch and stand carefuly... I don´t know about price of pollen in England, but here it´s a bit expensive...

Normal life biology of bumble beeses in nature is, that queen find her place for hybernation first... Like Zagone said, it coud be old rat nest(this is the most favourite station of B. terrestris nest) or somethink, where they can hide up beware of higher humidity(I mean just really wet ground) and very freezing temperatures... On the spring, when ground and nature gets warmer, bumble beeses as first ,,beeses" went out and they are starting collecting of pollen. Queen make two or more ,,cels" from wax and she full it of pollen. Than she laid about 5 eggs into this cels and she leave it open... I don´t know much about this, if the cels are open till larvae stadium of workers, or if they are closed till it, but I know that larvaes in about adult and adult colonies are growing in open wax cels and workers are bringing them new and new pollen to eat.... But I don´t know if are also first larvaes growing in open, or closed cells, but I know, that in one cell iare about 3 larvaes and the puppae have his new own cocon from wax and other material.... Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar - Here are photos of queens first cells and laboratory breeding.... In nature queen collect pollen from wild plants, but the better choice for keeping is Polish method, where you have cage and plants and your queen wont be eaten by some bird or predator....

That´s all.. Take a care at your queen, when my father found B. terrestris queen in Januray(we thought that queen was from my colony in 2008: viewtopic.php?p=85677#85677), she was very desoriented and I feeded her, but she died after 3 hours

[highered]

Thanks for the link, it looks like bumble bees need small boxes rather then tubes. I will transfer her soon. I will also look for some pollen. When she walks she is so big you can hear her.

Edit Antstore - please use the edit function!

post from 13:17

I have found this online shop that sells pollen. What do think of it please as suitabilty for bumble bee food? Thanks
Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar

[Messorus]

Thanks for the link, it looks like bumble bees need small boxes rather then tubes. I will transfer her soon. I will also look for some pollen. When she walks she is so big you can hear her.

Edit Antstore - please use the edit function!

post from 13:17

I have found this online shop that sells pollen. What do think of it please as suitabilty for bumble bee food? Thanks
Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar

Hello
If it´s the same as this: Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar , you can feed it

[highered]

Thanks for all the help but unfortunately when I checked on her this morning she was dead. Never mind.

[Messorus]

But we have interesting topic for others, wich want to keep bumble beeses