Hi everyone, thanks for your kind comments. I have some sad news: I just returned from a weekend away to find one wax moth in the nest (which I managed to miss twice) and no sign of the queen. My hopes were raised when I found several wax pots, but were soon dashed when I found the queen dead, a few metres away. Sigh.
Nik Sargent - It might not mean your bumbles have wax moth. A lot of nests die off around this time of year anyway. Can you have a look? If it is wax moth, it would be good if you could get rid of the caterpillars to prevent a similar fate happening to bumblebees near you next year.
Lazygardener - the fact that yours are nesting underground means they are less likely to be predated by wax moth. It's thought that the moths detect the bees by scent, so if they're tucked away in an old mouse nest underground, they're much safer than the are in a box, or compost heap.
I really hope I haven't encouraged anyone to go out and indiscriminately kill moths. Butterflies and moths are having a terrible time at the moment and need all the help we can get. I guess there's no right answer... If you find a nest which has been predated by wax moths then do, if you want, kill the caterpillars to prevent a future generation predating on next year's bees, but I wouldn't advise going out and finding wax moths. They are a natural, native predator of bumblebees after all. They just find it easier to find the bees now because we have destroyed so many bumblebee habitats.
The best thing to do for bees remains the same: grow lots of nectar rich flowers from spring to autumn and leave an area of your garden with long grass, where bees can nest safely. Perhaps we should all take a leaf out of lazygardener's book and be a little more lazy in the garden.
sarah's pondlife - I'm sorry you got bitten by a snake, but to see one swimming in your pond, do you know how jealous I am??
Kate
