Bees nesting in roof

[DJC]

Hi,

I have what I *think* is some bees nesting behind my roof soffits. There's usually (today at least, with good weather!) around 1-3 of them buzzing around the entrance that I can see them coming in and out of. I've snapped a photo of one of them when it descended closer to the ground:

https://public.dm1.livefilestore.com/y2pSY37XGjKrfF_RvEDX3jvxfhdmvlGTO3gM5wpHHqVe_KPS37 xaj_qMdZUoOV2U-YlZnK3i6xD-370_u8L91-PrIYH-D9L4pN3zqbDFQ0l0T8/WP_20130630_003.jpg?psid=1

My guess was that's it's a bumblebee - but I'm not an expert, so;

-Do they look like bumblebees?
-If so, am I right in thinking that there's unlikely to be loads of them and I can just wait for the nest to die off at the end of this summer?
-If not, what are they?

Thanks!

[madasafish]

Bumble definitely.
50-100 tops in a nest.
Die out end summer.

Just enjoy them whilst here.. a fleeting existence.

[Neils]

It looks like it might be the Tree Bumblebee (bombus hypnorum).

As madasafish points out, they will number in the hundreds in the nest and will die off at the end of summer. They shouldn't cause a nuisance and are not aggressive so I'd second the suggestion to enjoy them while they're there :)

There is also a project plotting sightings as its a relatively new species to the uk so you might like to try and grab another photo or two and complete a survey entry:

http://www.bwars.com/index.php?q=submit-bombus-hypnorum-sighting

[DJC]

Brilliant - I'll leave them be, then (and reassure my worried neighbour that we're not about to be invaded by swarms of wasps!).

I'll see if I can grab another couple of photos for the survey.

Cheers