Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:06 am
Uncle Mike, one of the worst things to have happen is to disturb accidentally a nest of black face bumblebees. They usually are under the edges of buildings or stacks of wood or old lumber piles. They can be very vicious when in attack mode 
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There is an old tale that yellow face bumble bees won't sting. I know that is not true, because as you say of your kids, etc., I used to play with them as a child until I got stung by a yellowface.
My reason for whacking them is the structural damage they do to buildings and sheds. Had some 16 ft 2X6's cut and stored under a shed and later cut some up for a project and the bees had traveled and bored the entire length of the boards and not just one hole, some had 3 and 4 holes. The boards were ruined because they had to support a large amount of weight.
Tell the kids to be careful, cause they might pick up the wrong kind one of these days. Pete
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There is an old tale that yellow face bumble bees won't sting. I know that is not true, because as you say of your kids, etc., I used to play with them as a child until I got stung by a yellowface.
My reason for whacking them is the structural damage they do to buildings and sheds. Had some 16 ft 2X6's cut and stored under a shed and later cut some up for a project and the bees had traveled and bored the entire length of the boards and not just one hole, some had 3 and 4 holes. The boards were ruined because they had to support a large amount of weight.
Tell the kids to be careful, cause they might pick up the wrong kind one of these days. Pete
Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:34 am
I got drilled yesterday by a *&%^(*&^ bumble bee on my back. I leaned back in a chair at moms house and BAM right above the kidney, still hurts to move 
right above the kidney, still hurts to move
Bumbles
Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:06 pm
I can see it if they are stinging you or causing damage. I've only lived in the NW and Maine, so I may have been dealing with a different species.
We actually trap the queens in boxes in the spring time out here (Only the queens survive the winter), with a little bit of cotten they can use for thier nest. Ticks them off for a couple of days, but then they build a nest inside and will start laying eggs. This way you can move the box to a green house and you don't have to hand polinate everything.
We actually trap the queens in boxes in the spring time out here (Only the queens survive the winter), with a little bit of cotten they can use for thier nest. Ticks them off for a couple of days, but then they build a nest inside and will start laying eggs. This way you can move the box to a green house and you don't have to hand polinate everything.