Board logo

What are these insects and what are they doing in my wall?!
Mark G - 19/4/11 at 05:49 PM

Just outside enjoying the sun whilst it lasts, Sat eating my BBQ and notice a constant coming and going of what look like bee's entering and leaving a little hole in my external wall.

Can anyone identify the insects from my photo's and if possible advise on how to get rid of them. At the moment they're not doing any harm but I'm sure it can't be a good thing. Also, If they're not going to contribute to my mortgage then they gotta go!









Regards,
Mark.

robinj66 - 19/4/11 at 05:55 PM

I remember a family in our village (Tollerton, Notts) whose house was partly destroyed by bees eating into the walls. Can't find any reference to it on the 'net (it was way before the internet was invented) but this might help Linky

westf27 - 19/4/11 at 05:56 PM

yes they are bees and its a beheading offence to kill them.Ask a local pest controller for advice and help.

Tell 'em about the honey mommy

graememk - 19/4/11 at 05:56 PM

look like zombie flys.

omega 24 v6 - 19/4/11 at 06:11 PM

looks more like wasps to me.

David Jenkins - 19/4/11 at 06:15 PM

Either solitary bees or masonry bees.

Solitary bees are harmless - they just want a hole in which to lay a few eggs (not many). A little later the young bees come out and the hole is vacant again.

Masonry bees are much the same, except they may excavate in the wall a bit (depends on the mortar).

bowood14 - 19/4/11 at 06:18 PM

Agree with David Jenkins oh and I am a Pest Controller

scootz - 19/4/11 at 06:22 PM

Anyone ever seen a Wood-Wasp (apart from Bowood... obviously!).

They are HUUUUUUUUUGE!

David Jenkins - 19/4/11 at 06:32 PM

We get hornets around my village... get one of those in the kitchen and it's like a Dornier bomber flying around! Mostly harmless and not aggressive, unless you accidentally tread on one, or make it think you're attacking it, or get far too close to a nest. You really DON'T want to get stung by a hornet... I don't mind them because they eat wasps, and I hate wasps...

Hornets

[Edited on 19/4/11 by David Jenkins]

blakep82 - 19/4/11 at 06:34 PM

aren't they honey bees, as opposed to the regular bumble bee that we see, which aren't the ones making honey?

bumble bee link

honey bee link

David Jenkins - 19/4/11 at 06:38 PM

Neither, I believe. Bumbles are fat and hairy (and harmless), while honey bees are quite small, dark-coloured and mostly found either on flowers or around nests/hives.

Mark G - 19/4/11 at 06:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scootz
Anyone ever seen a Wood-Wasp (apart from Bowood... obviously!).

They are HUUUUUUUUUGE!


Funny you should ask, I had one of them get trapped in a sheet in my garden last year. Needless to say I ran a mile!

flak monkey - 19/4/11 at 06:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
Either solitary bees or masonry bees.

Solitary bees are harmless - they just want a hole in which to lay a few eggs (not many). A little later the young bees come out and the hole is vacant again.

Masonry bees are much the same, except they may excavate in the wall a bit (depends on the mortar).


Agreed. The coming and going is more than likely the same bee over and over again.

We used to get one visit a hole in our wall every year.

Mark G - 19/4/11 at 07:12 PM

Just sent the photo's over to a local bee expert and he has identified them as red masonry bee's. Big pat on the back to those of you who spotted that.

Apparently they'll only be around for a few weeks and will just be laying eggs, not setting up home. Not sure what to do about the eggs though as it could become a recurring issue... I'll have to have a think about that one.

Thanks all.

deltron63 - 19/4/11 at 07:23 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scootz
Anyone ever seen a Wood-Wasp (apart from Bowood... obviously!).

They are HUUUUUUUUUGE!


We had two in the house a couple of years ago. They sound like mini helicopters.
Scared the hell out of me when i saw them

David Jenkins - 19/4/11 at 09:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Mark G
Not sure what to do about the eggs though as it could become a recurring issue... I'll have to have a think about that one.


Just wait until there's no sign of activity then put some mesh over the hole...

It's worth leaving solitary bees alone, as they're a major pollinator in gardens. They're not aggressive either, so no risk to kiddies as long as they're left alone.

morcus - 20/4/11 at 02:23 AM

I was beaten to it but plugging the hole would be my first though (Though I'm terrified of flying bugs so my first thought would be run away and my second delegation).

Don't try going after them with an air gun, it just leaves you with loads of holes.

mangogrooveworkshop - 20/4/11 at 04:54 AM

quote:
Originally posted by bowood14
Agree with David Jenkins oh and I am a Pest Controller

Looks like an English variety of bee.
Why people want to kill every insect they see is beyond me.
Up here in Scotland the hives have been wiped out by some bug/fungal problem
That has seen the bee population fall dramatically.
Without bees your food supply would pretty much dry up and yields drop significantly.
There's parts of china the entire population collapsed leaving the locals to have to us feathers to pollenate
Crops. The whole Eco system depends on the humble bee.

When I was in short trousers I was stung several hundred times by the Zulu bee Type.
This led me on to studying the bees and different types ect.
I'm not totally up on local scots / English bee types but the masonry bee is a very destructive
type on old English brick houses that have soft facebricks. Provide the bees with and
Alternate accommodation and get A local bee specialist to smoke and move the hive if you can access it.
I learned to do this off of a teacher at my primary school after I was so badly stung.
However I could not continue to do handling as my body reacts very very badly to the stings venom.
This risk is one we had to do without. Still have a healthy respect for them and it all stemmed from
that almost fatal day in joburg the sky turned black with bees.
Little specimen makes large specimen jump miles high.

Facts African Zulu bee is a good honey producing bee some idiot took
some too south America and they Cross bred with a local
Bee resulting in a very aggressive bee type that has spread northwards into
The southern states of America this is the infamous killer bee.
May I point out that most bee types can be fatal to humans with enough sting venom
Injected in to them. So Respect the wee blighters and remember it's your beer supply
That these bugs are making the ingreadints for and that's why you look after thm.

Do you do any private jobs for pest control?
I've got an ex burrowing into my pension funds atmo.

David Jenkins - 20/4/11 at 08:00 AM

quote:
Originally posted by morcus
I was beaten to it but plugging the hole would be my first though (Though I'm terrified of flying bugs so my first thought would be run away and my second delegation).



Let the bee finish its business, then use mesh - don't plug it cos it looks like a vent of some sort!

I agree with mango - help bees out as much as possible, as long as they aren't a direct threat. Even then, get help to move them elsewhere rather than wipe them out.

02GF74 - 20/4/11 at 09:29 AM

quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey
Agreed. The coming and going is more than likely the same bee over and over again.



ah but the only way to be really sure is to print out some tiny number plates and stick them onto the bee(s)

Marcus - 20/4/11 at 07:10 PM

We have a similar thing in our garden, turns out they're mining bees, little mounds of earth in the grass with holes in. Completely non aggressive, quite nice to see now we know what they are!!

RoadkillUK - 20/4/11 at 08:07 PM

Don't block the hole, it's for cavity wall drainage. LINKY. As for the insect, I don't know but it looks like that's been covered.

quote 'Allows water drainage while preventing entry of large insects.'

[Edited on 20/4/11 by RoadkillUK]

Daddylonglegs - 20/4/11 at 08:24 PM

Yep, looks like a bee to me. Shouldn't give you too much hassle unless you P them off!

Now wasps.....I keep getting the gits hanging around the garage looking for a likely nest site. They did that last year and I ended up with a tennis ball-sized nest between the tool board and the garage door. As soon as I spotted it I waited until dusk and torched the mothers!! Also got a football sized nest in the loft which took a lot more to get rid of. Getting stung by one wasp is bad enough but getting stung by an angry mob is nasty!

We also get Hornets, and as already said, they are mostly harmless and best of all they eat Wasps