Building and Installing Bumblebee Houses

Transcription

1 17507 Frt Rad Edmntn AB T5Y 6H3 Phne: Building and Installing Bumblebee Huses Each spring in Alberta, millins f queen bumblebees wake up frm hibernatin, shake themselves ff, and begin lking fr ptential nesting sites. Like yu r I, the queens prefer t make their hmes in places that are dry, prtected frm the elements, and near t gd surces f fd. Depending n the species, such places can be fund under piles f rck r deadfall; in the hllws f trees, thick bunch grasses, r abandned rdent burrws; r in a welldesigned, prperly installed bumblebee huse! The fllwing factsheet describes hw t build and install bumblebee huses that wuld be difficult t resist fr any passing queens. Figure 1. A typical bumblebee nest. Pht credit: Mark Wnneck. Materials t Build One Bumblebee Huse ¾ inch plywd (apprximately 2½ square feet) Saw t cut plywd t size Sixteen 1½ inch screws One hinge Fur ½ inch screws (fr fastening hinge) Latch and 2 eyehle screws Apprximately six inches f plastic pipe (PVC r similar material), with interir diameter f 5/8 inch (ideally) r 3/4 inch. **Nte that plastic pipe is nt necessary if yu are planning n installing yur huse abvegrund. Pruners Drill and/r screwdriver Drill bit fr making an entranceway hle. If yu are nt using a plastic pipe (fr abvegrund huses), the hle shuld be 5/8 inch. If yu are using a plastic pipe (fr belwgrund huses), the hle will need t be slightly larger t accmmdate the utside diameter f the pipe. Apprximately 6 x 12 f bedding material such as uphlsterer s cttn, r nn-surgical white bleached cttn (e.g. Kendall Lakeside cttn) Apprximately 10½ x 10 f plastic sheeting, at least 4 mil thick Staple gun and staples

2 Building Steps 1. Cut plywd int apprpriately sized pieces fr a bx with 6 x 6 x 6 internal diameter, an verhanging lid, and tw skids, as fllws: One 8½ x 8 piece (lid) Tw 7½ x 6¾ pieces (frnt and back) Tw 6¾ x 6 pieces (sides) One 6 x 6 piece (bttm) Tw 7½ x ¾ pieces (skids) 2. If yu are installing yur huse belwgrund and using a plastic pipe: Use the pruners t cut yur plastic pipe t a 6 inch length. Cut ne end at 90 and the ther end at a 45 angle. 3. Drill a hle int the center f the piece f plywd that will becme the frnt f the huse. If yu are installing yur huse abvegrund and nt using a pipe: The hle shuld be 5/8 inch in diameter. If yu are installing yur huse belwgrund and using a pipe: The hle shuld be large enugh fr yur plastic pipe t fit in snugly, and shuld be drilled at a slight angle (10-15 ) s that the pipe angles dwnward away frm the huse. This will prevent water frm draining int the huse. 4. Screw tgether the frnt, back, sides, and bttm pieces tgether using the 1½ inch screws, t make a basic bx shape. 5. Screw the skids nt the bttm f the bx using the 1½ inch screws. 6. Using the ½ inch screws, screw half f the hinge n the back edge f the lid (n the underside surface) and then screw the ther half nt the tp edge f the back side f the bx (n the back-facing surface). See Figure 2. Figure 2. An almst cmpleted bumblebee huse (nly the plastic cvering is missing). Pht by AWES. 7. Screw the eyehle screw and latch int the frnt edge f the lid (n the underside surface) and screw the ther eyehle screw int the frnt side f the bx where the latch can fit int it snugly. 8. If yu wish, at this stage yu can apply a cat f utdr paint t the utside f the huse (DO NOT PAINT THE INSIDE OF THE BOX), as this will make it mre weather resistant. Nte that bumblebees are sensitive t the smell f paint, s painting shuld ccur a few mnths befre installatin.

3 9. Fld the 6 x 12 piece f cttn and place it inside the bx s that the fld is against the back wall. Ensure that there is a gap between the layers f cttn at the entrance hle (this will allw the queen bee t burrw in between the layers and make her nest). 10. Drape the 10½ x 10 piece f plastic sheeting ver the lid s that it verhangs it by abut an inch n all sides. Staple it t the lid. 11. If yu are installing yur huse belwgrund: Insert the plastic pipe int the entrance hle s that the straight cut side is flush with the inside f the frnt piece f plywd, and the 45 angle cut side is rtated t create a landing pad fr the bees. If the hle is t large and the pipe is lse fitting, it can be sealed int the hle with sme caulking. Installatin Bumblebee huses shuld be installed in early spring (i.e. April), right after snwmelt but befre leaves appear and early flwering species (e.g. willw) begin blming. Fr the best results, install the huses in areas with plentiful surces f fd fr the queens (i.e. pllen and nectar frm diverse flwering trees, shrubs, and frbs). Avid sites that are within 3m (10 ) f anthills, r at risk f being sprayed with pesticides r vandalized. Certain species f bumblebees prefer t nest abvegrund, ften in the hllws f trees, and are therefre mre cmmn in frested areas. Other species prefer belwgrund nests, typically in rdent burrws r under piles f brush, and are mre cmmn in pen areas. Fr these reasns, huses that are installed abvegrund may experience higher nesting rates in areas within r surrunded by frests, while huses installed belwgrund may experience higher nesting rates within and arund pen areas such as pasture r crpland. Figure 3. A belwgrund bumblebee huse befre (tp picture) and after (bttm picture) being buried by sd. Pht credit: Mark Wnneck. As discussed abve, huses that are installed belwgrund shuld have a 6 piece f plastic pipe inserted int the entrance hle. Belwgrund huses shuld be partially buried int the side f a welldrained gradual slpe, with the pipe angling slightly dwn the slpe t ensure that rainwater des nt drain int the huse. The huse and pipe length shuld be cvered with a piece f sd s that nly the very end f the pipe is expsed. Further tips n belwgrund huse placement include:

4 Avid expsed suth r west-facing slpes, as the sun may cause the end f the plastic pipe t heat up beynd what is cmfrtable fr the bees. Clear bstructing vegetatin away frm the area directly in frnt f the pipe entrance upn installatin. Once the huse has been installed, vegetatin shuld be left t naturally grw arund it. By the end f the seasn the huse may be difficult t find amid the vegetatin, s it is a gd idea t take careful ntes f where yu installed it r place sme flagging t help yu find it again in the fall! If pssible, select a site that has a visible landmark nearby, such as a large tree, rck, r building. This will help t rient the bees t the site. Bumblebee huses that are installed abvegrund d nt require a 6 piece f plastic pipe in their entrance hle. These huses can be strapped t a thick tree r pst using plastic r metal strapping, r simply set n the grund. The nrth side f trees/psts is ideal, s that the huse is nt expsed t direct sunlight. Figure 4. An abvegrund bumblebee huse. Pht credit: Dr. Ralph Cartar. Mnitring and Maintenance Once yur huse is installed, the nly thing left t d is wait and see whether it is used by the bees. Queen bumblebees are quite selective abut where they nest, and an average f nly 1 in 4 bumblebee huses are clnized even where there are ample fd resurces (which is why it is ften a gd idea t build multiple huses!). T tell whether yur huse has been clnized, mnitr the entranceway fr bees cming and ging. It is als pssible t pen up the lid at night when the bees are inactive hwever be careful nt t d this t ften as it may disturb the bees and put yu at risk f being stung. If there are n signs f bee activity by mid-july, the huse is likely nt ging t be inhabited fr that seasn and can be remved frm the site, cleaned if necessary, and stred fr next year. If a queen des happen t chse yur huse fr a nesting site, she will crawl int it, fluff up the cttn inside, and begin creating wax cells, laying eggs, and prvisining them with nectar and pllen. The eggs will hatch int wrker daughters that help with the prvisining and guarding f the nest, and ver the seasn the clny may expand t individuals depending n the species and habitat quality. At sme pint in mid-summer, the queen will begin laying eggs that hatch int males and new queens, bth f which will fly ut and mate with bees frm different nests. By mid-octber, the ld nesting site will be abandned, and all the bees will die ff except fr the newly mated queens. These queens will build up their fat reserves by feeding n nectar and pllen, and then find a sheltered spt t hibernate fr the winter (e.g. within leaf litter r in the sil). Figure 5 prvides an illustratin f this lifecycle.

5 Figure 5. The lifecycle f a bumblebee clny. Pht credit: Xerces Sciety. This means that by mid-octber, it is safe t pen up the huse and inspect the nest. Cunt the number f wax cells within the nest this will tell yu hw large the clny was, and is a gd indicatr f habitat quality. Remve the cttn and nest material and clean ut the inside f the huse with a mild bleach slutin. While abvegrund huses can be left ut ver winter, belwgrund huses weather mre quickly and shuld be stred smewhere dry until they are reinstalled the fllwing spring. References Persnal cmmunicatin, Dr. Ralph Cartar and Mark Wnneck. Pelletier, L., and Cartar, R., Advice fr deplying bumble bee nest bxes (dmiciles). Fr mre infrmatin abut bumblebee huses cntact us at: inf@awes-ab.ca Phne: (780)