Bumblebee Nest - Provide Guidance

[upmm019]

Hello.

I am new to the forum as I wanted to inquire with people with insect knowledge, namely Bumblebees.

I live in Minnesota and have noticed that I must have an active BB nest in my porch step.

The step is concrete but the slab sits upon cinder blocks and some of the mortar is missing. Over the summer on a frequent basis I see bees coming to the step and crawling into the opening where the mortar is missing.

So far the bees have not been aggressive but I don't want it to get out of control and have a huge swarm one day.

I fear all bees/wasps... was stung badly by wasp swarm as a child and never grew to like them.

so I am not sure what to do if anything.

Looking for any advice or guidance on this matter.

[wollastoni]

Bumblebees don't sting. No danger at all.
Just enjoy having these splendid little animals in your garden.

[ckswank]

They are not very aggressive as a rule, but will sting if provoked. I was stung by one in my early 20's on the inside of my upper left thigh after I brushed it off my steering wheel of my car by accident when I was getting ready to pull away. Already had the car in gear. Pain was not as bad as a wasp, but still wasn't pleasant, especially since it just barely missed the family jewels! Any other close calls?

Charlie

[starlightcriminal]

Are you sure they aren't carpenter bees? Not quite as yellow but very similar, at least down here. Neither is likely to sting unless you are really trying.

Good news is if they really are bumble bees the colonies are ridiculously tiny at their peak for eusocial insects. I'm not sure about carpenter bees but I think they cause damage, unlike bumbles that are just using the shelter to make their honey pots.

You can keep an entire honey bee colony on one half of a shoebox as long as you provide a constant supply of food in the other half (and a dividing wall with a little hole in it... emulating, say, a crack in a stoop in front of your house...). Unlike most other bees they won't bash themselves against the wall looking for other sources of food. They just go back and forth all day. We kept them for study like this while I was an undergrad. You just collect the first bee you see in the spring, it's almost definitely a queen, and get some bee food. Better than an ant colony!

[58chevy]

I was stung by a bumblebee when I was a kid. I was trying to glue two of them together to make one huge one. I thought they were both dead, but I was wrong.

[wollastoni]

You were really trying !