markoc said:



Hi - new poster here.

Wonder if anyone can help. My front garden has seen a large number of
small piles of earth form with a hole in the middle. There are probably
about 50 of them at a conservative guess. The hole itself is about 6mm
and like someone has used a drillbit, with the earth making a small
mound about 3cm wide and a couple of cm tall. I've seen some very
small
"bee like" things around.

The front lawn has an apple tree in it, and the holes are in that area
of the lawn.

So far the little things haven't caused me any harm - and while I don't
want to kill them, I equally don't want an army of bees living under my
lawn. There are also young kids that play out in my street as we're on
a cul-de-sac and I'd hate for one to get stung.

Any advice or guidance would be gratefully received.

Leave them alone. They are mining bees, possiblyly something like
Andrena flavipes (since you are posting from gardenbanter.co.uk).

They are not aggressive, and are interesting to watch. Each bee leads
a solitary life, though they do tend to nest in aggregations. Native
pollinators like mining bees should be encouraged rather than attacked.
In fact, many native pollinators are becoming increasingly rare and
are threatened with, or have actually become in danger of extinction.

Some info on various solitary bees, including mining bees (for the UK):

http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/solitary_bees.htm
http://www.insectpix.net/solitary_bees_gallery.htm

(For North America):
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/7153.htm
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/miningbees.html

Now, ground nesting colonial wasps (yellow jackets, genus Vespula)
are aa different story...although they are predators of many harmful
insects, they are very aggressive nest defenders and relentless stingers.
Any nests I find anywhere near the house, or any other part of the
garden where I regularly work, mow or walk gets eliminated.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Vegetables are like bombs packed tight with all kinds of important
nutrients..." --Largo Potter, Valkyria Chronicles

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