# do bumble bees and honey bees fight



## djhiban12 (Dec 6, 2008)

my hives are located at a farm i work at, we have around 2000 sun flowers. however, their are practically no honey bees on them. Are the bumbles out competing the honey bees or are the honey bees somewhere else now


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## Hambone (Mar 17, 2008)

Your bees are some where else. They are not going to fight out in the field. Try lining your bees next time you are out. Watch what direction they are coming and going from the hive and head that way. Pack a lunch though. Can be a long walk sometimes.


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## BruinnieBear (Jun 30, 2009)

djhiban12 said:


> Are the bumbles out competing the honey bees or are the honey bees somewhere else now


See post #9:

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233139

It's a combination of both. The bumblers are physiologically more suited to certain species like sunflowers and red clover. Like Derek mentioned, they're on something that more strikes their fancy.

BB


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## WayneW (Jul 17, 2008)

Never seen them fight on clover and such, but let a bumble or mason try to enter a hive........... WHAM, my ladies aint ladies no more......they kick butt!! :lpf:


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## Lil Grain of Rice (Jul 30, 2009)

The other day I noticed a small pile of bees outside one of my hives rolling around like a ball. Every now and then something black would poke out for a second. It was a pile-on on a bumblebee. Was funny to watch them rolling around all over the place, just like one of the cartoon scenes with the occasional fist or head poking out. Interesting thing was it didn't appear that the bees were stinging, or even attempting to sting, each other. Must have been biting only rules.


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## bnatural (Aug 10, 2008)

Lil Grain of Rice said:


> Interesting thing was it didn't appear that the bees were stinging, or even attempting to sting, each other. Must have been biting only rules.


I read somewhere that they are actually overheating the intruder by covering it, so it can't cool off. Don't know how true, but it's an interesting concept.

I've seen yellow jackets try to storm a hive and the bees definitely will sting.

Bill


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## devdog108 (May 7, 2009)

watched mine take out a bumble bee lst night..Was awesome to watch...


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## trance (Mar 29, 2013)

I know this is an old topic but I was researching this same thing... I was doing yard work past few days and had a Bumble Bee fly by me. Today another came by, got about a foot away from the top of my head, it looked at me and I looked it it. It flew a few seconds later up towards the roof of my shed and was interrupted by another Bumble Bee and one chased the other and I lost sight of them. I don't have my Honey Bees yet but should in a week or less and was researching. 

Now I do have wasps that build nest on my sheds that I leave alone. Never had an issue and don't mind them taking care of other pests and all. Not sure if they will be an issue... Guess that is my next search on this site.


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

More likely that was a carpenter bee. They are quite territorial, it's fun to watch them chase each other.

However, they drill rather large holes in wood, you may want to get rid of them and make sure your shed is well painted!

Last fall I watched a bumble bee try to get into one of my hives. Every time it went into the entrance the girls would give it the bum's rush back out onto the landing board. Quite fun to watch, that bumblebee really wanted in.

The only other interaction I've seen was honeybees on honeysuckle, the nasty vineing stuff they usually can't use because the flowers are too deep and narrow for them to get in to get nectar. I was picking up pecans down the road a bit and heard the bees just humming up a storm along the honeysuckle patch, which I'd never seen before. Seems a couple bumble bees were cutting into the base of the floral tube to get at the nectar, and the honey bees were following right behind them. Lined up in fact, it was fun to watch.

Peter


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

"The honeybee, however, is as much attracted by the honey of the bumblebee as by her own. In a time of scarcity, we have seen them pillage, a nest of bumblebees which had been placed in an open box near an apiary; they had taken almost entire possession of it: a few bumblebees, remaining in spite of the disaster to the nest, still repaired to the fields and brought back the surplus of their needs to their ancient asylum; but the plundering bees, training them, accompanied them home and never quitted them until having obtained the fruits of their harvest; they licked them, held out their trunks, surrounded them and did not release them until they had obtained the saccharine fluid of which they were the depositaries: they did not try to kill the insect which thus afforded them their repast; the sting was never un-sheathed, and the bumblebee itself was accustomed to these exactions, it yielded its honey and resumed its flight: this new-fashioned domestic economy lasted above three weeks; wasps, attracted by the same cause, did not become so familiar with the original proprietors of the nest; at night the bumblebees remained alone; they finally disappeared and the parasites did not return."--Francis Huber, New Observations Upon Bees, Volume II, Chapter IX


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## BuckeyeBeek (Apr 16, 2013)

Witnessed this tonight. While watching the bees bearding around the entrance, a bumblebee landed on the landing board. Bad idea. A split second later many guards converged forming a ball around the bumblebee that just rolled off into the grass. It was pretty spectacular to watch though it didn't last long. I'm not exactly sure if they killed it or not.


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