Our Services Swarm Collection What bee is this? In summer we get many calls and questions from people with bees in their homes, outbuildings or bird boxes. Often these turn out to be bumblebees. As well as honey bees there are around 24 species of bumblebee and over 240 species of solitary bee in the UK. To find out what type of bees you have please see the information below. If you are still unsure then click here to go to the Beedentify website for additional help.BBKA volunteer members can only help with honey bees. Honey bees There can be variation in the colour of the main body or abdomen of honey bees, from honey coloured Italian bees to very dark native black honey bees but all will form a distinctive cluster when they have settled as a swarm. Honey bees have large hairy eyes, a furry chest or thorax and distinctive bent antennae. This is a swarm of honey bees gathered on a wall. There are more pictures of swarms here honeybee swarms If you are sure they are honey bees then you can input your postcode to find a volunteer beekeeper who may be willing to collect the swarm. However, beekeepers are not normally able to collect honey bees from roof voids, cavity walls and chimneys. Further information if you have bees in the structure of your property: Bees in Buildings Other bees: If they are not honey bees (Apis mellifera) then unfortunately beekeepers are not able to remove them. This is because of the low chance of success and the capacity of our members to respond to the very large volume of non-honey bee calls. If wasps or hornets and they are in a dangerous position you may wish to contact a pest control company. Bumblebees If the bees are not honey bees please leave them alone if possible. All bees are valuable pollinators and many are becoming endangered. Bumblebee nests will normally die out in Autumn. Most bumblebees live in small colonies, are not aggressive, do not sting unless provoked and so present a low risk. If you have a bumblebee nest with an entrance that is causing problems, it is sometimes possible to redirect their flight path. Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) may be more sensitive to vibrations and are on occasion a little feisty. Tree bumblebees have a distinctive white rump and ginger furry back and often like to nest in bird boxes. However they usually only fly for a few weeks so should be left alone. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust website has further information. About Bumblebees Identify a BumblebeeBumblebee nests FAQs Solitary Bees As their names suggest, solitary bees do not live in colonies. Each female makes her own nest but they can nest close together in large numbers. If they are in your lawn or buildings, they may look worrying but they cause no damage. Again most species only fly for a few weeks so will probably disappear again within a month. Please leave them alone if you can. Guide to British Solitary Bees Tawny Mining BeeFemale Wool Carder BeeMale Buffish Mining BeeFemale Leafcutter BeeFemale Ivy Mining Bee Red Mason BeeFemale European Hornet European Hornets are native and of no threat so can be left alone. Yellow-legged Asian Hornet Yellow-legged Asian Hornets are an invasive species and must be reported! Never Disturb an active Yellow-legged Asian Hornet nest! Beekeepers cannot remove Yellow-legged Asian Hornets but we can assist with identification. See our identification page for further information. Also, please report any sightings immediately to: [email protected] or use the 'Asian Hornet Watch' smartphone app. WaspsAre they bright yellow with black stripes?Very smooth, mainly yellow with black stripes?Are they in the roof of your house?Are they coming from a round nest? Is there a nest in the shed?Do they have a high pitched buzz?Are they after all things sweet?These are wasps. For more information go to BWARS. Bee Mimicking Hoverfly There are flies that people mistake for bees and that is not surprising because nature has designed them like that to ward off their predators. How to tell the difference: bees have two pairs of wings, flies only have one. Bees have long antennae, flies have short antennae. Bees have hairy eyes, flies have very large eyes. Most like the one below have eyes that cover the whole of the front of their head and two small feathery antennae stick out just below them. And definitely just one pair of long wings. If you need more help identifying a bee then there is further information on our swarm collection page.The BWARS group has many experts on bee identification via their Facebook pageThis link will take you to a very comprehensive picture ID of most UK bees. Manage Cookie Preferences