Bees are nesting in my bird house.  What do I do?

We need all the pollinators we can get! Some people are surprised to discover bees taking up residence in a birdhouse. Since many species of bumblebees are in decline, you may want to consider the presence of Orange Rumped Bumblebees a positive! Before you decide to reclaim that house for the birds, consider these important facts.

Bumblebees Nest Spring – Fall Each spring, queen bumblebees search for a new nest site.  Once a site is established, bumblebees visit flowers for nectar and pollen to eat, and to use to feed an initial brood of larval worker bees.

In the summer the bumblebee queen produces a few generations of workers who then take over the task of collecting nectar and pollen.  The summer generations help the queen rear the final generation of the colony—queens for next spring, and males to mate with them.  By late fall, the colony has died out except for a few final workers and males, and the new queens burrow into the ground to wait for the following spring.