Ground bees: types, how to get honey, bite, do you need to get rid of them?

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• Types of ground bees
• Lifestyle and home. Change of generations and offspring
• Role in nature: benefits and harm
• Honey extraction
• Danger to humans
• Is it necessary to fight earthly inhabitants?

Bees that traditionally live in underground corridors, or Andrena magna, are little-known insects that do not create large swarms, live in burrows, and are different in appearance from their honey-bearing counterparts. It is surprising that researchers have identified more than one and a half thousand species of earth bees, many of them have not yet been studied at all.

Hymenoptera differ from their domestic honey-bearing relatives: they are smaller in size: body length is from 8 to 19 mm, males have practically no differences from females. As a rule, representatives of the Hymenoptera environment have a thick coat of fur, which indicates life in difficult underground conditions. Unlike the domestic striped inhabitants of hives, insects that live in the ground are black in color. Their wings are purple, slightly curved, and their head is dark brown. Females are slightly different in appearance from males: they have tassels on their posterior acetabular rings.

Despite the large number of types, none of them are domestic; all populations are wild. Their habitat: the entire planet, with the exception of South America, Australia, Madagascar and some African countries. Representatives of the families settle on the edge of a field or in a forest. In Russia, these families are especially popular, and often annoy owners of summer cottages with the construction of underground cities consisting of many passages.

Kinds

Scientists have studied the varieties of earth bees and identified several communities, the most famous being the following:

• Andrena clarkella looks like a small fluffy bumblebee with long red legs. Males of this breed do not have a bright color, they are thin, their body is elongated;
• Andrena magna: not a common subspecies, settles in the Black Sea region, externally, individuals are characterized by the presence of thick fur;
• Galikt sphecodes: a metallic red-green bee that looks a bit like a wasp and is found throughout the world;
• The long-moustached variety is the owner of a pronounced mustache on a relatively small head;
• Woolbite: a small, bright representative of the genus, mainly living in the bark of bushes and trees or in abandoned holes, since it does not dig them;
• The leafcutter (megachilus) got its name because it lines its nest with leaves and lives only for two months, giving way to its offspring;
• The nomad (cuckoo) does not have the ability to arrange its own nest, so it lays its larvae in other people’s nests;
• Mellitid is characterized by a selective approach to plants, pollinating only legumes and asteraceae;
• Carpenter: a solitary subspecies characterized by a bluish tint and a loud buzzing sound.

The listed representatives: this is only a small studied part of the range of arthropods living in the underground.

What kind of lifestyle do they lead?

Earth bees can live either alone or in groups. Depends on the variety. Basically, insects settle in entire colonies; sometimes several families can live in one hole at the same time. When the offspring grows up, they do not move far from the parental home, but settle nearby, digging tunnels, thereby expanding the bee kingdom.

There are also insects that prefer to live alone rather than in groups, for example, this is typical of carpenter bees and leaf-cutter bees. The female lives in the nest alone with her larvae until all the offspring are mature.

Video: Earth bees

The basis of the arthropod family is traditionally the queen, who is the first to find a suitable burrow and lay larvae in it for the birth of new individuals. As they develop, they begin to collect pollen and deposit it in vessels from the ground previously strengthened with saliva. The uterus, having given birth to offspring, dies.

The material for creating their own housing is soil, from which bees create deep burrows. They represent a city, it has a lot of branches and passages. But not only the earth attracts bees to build housing; they often settle in the bark of trees or in the cracks of the walls of a wooden house. Housing for hymenoptera is often a leaf of a tree or a crevice in a rock.

The earth is also the basis for breeding: the burrow is lined with a waterproof layer consisting of saliva, soil and secretion produced by the abdominal glands. In this durable substance, arthropods store larvae, from which their brothers emerge. A new burrow, where the next generation will be born in the future, is created only after the previous one appears.

And the most radical method to get rid of it is to poison ↑

And not necessarily a patented poison. It is effective to soak scraps of cloth or cotton wool in gasoline or something similar and, putting them in the hole, close the entrance. You can also pour them with toxic solutions or spray them with an aerosol. Or even spray dichlorvos from a can into the holes. Important: do not work on the surface, the poison must get inside the holes.

• The poison affects everything and will also harm other living beings: both beneficial and harmful.
• Poison residues getting into vegetables is likely. This also applies to petroleum products: there may be an extraneous chemical smell from root vegetables.
• Reliable. Poison is poison, a strong thing.
• Observe safety precautions when working. Inhaling on your own will not improve your health. Any substance that is toxic to an insect is, to one degree or another, dangerous to humans.

Another way to get rid of imagoes: with traps or fishing. It's not as stupid as it seems. The loss of a few wasps for a nest with a hundred inhabitants is hardly noticeable. A few bees for a hive with tens of thousands of people is completely imperceptible. But the destruction of several single bees, if there are only a dozen of them, is different... So handing a butterfly net to a neighbor’s boy and sending him on a hunt may make sense.

Not all, but many species of solitary bees feed on more than just nectar. By placing or hanging traps in

in the form of bottles partially filled with bait liquid, you can get rid of bees. At the same time, slightly poisoned compounds are used in the fight against wasps. Just lightly, so that the foragers have time to bring the poison to the nest where the brood is being fed, and not die along the way. In order to get rid of single bees, it is enough to place the bottles in such a way that those who get inside cannot get out. No poison needed. As bait - diluted beer, fermented jam, watery sugar syrup. What can be found on the farm?

There are recommendations when carrying out extermination work to protect yourself with smoke from a beekeeper's smoker. A useless exercise. Smoke actually pacifies honey bees. When smelled, they collect full sacs of honey (a maximum of 90 mg can be placed there when the bee weighs approximately 110 when pumped in) and it becomes more difficult for them to sting. But solitary bees don’t do that, the behavior is completely different! Transferring an action that is effective with honey bees to single ones because of the consideration “these are bees too” is useless and stupid.

Role in nature: benefits and harm

Bee communities: They are an integral part of nature that benefits it by pollinating different plants, thus maintaining the natural balance. They are bred specifically for pollinating gardens; bees living in the ground are a real find for lovers of flower plants.

However, individuals can cause harm to both humans and natural areas. The sting of such a bee is dangerous; it threatens with unpredictable consequences associated with allergic manifestations.

They also damage lands with their huge corridors of cells. Urbanization is gradually leading to the disappearance of places where associations of arthropods quietly carry out their normal activities. Therefore, they gradually move to dachas and gardens, bite their owners, destroy beds, spoil garden plots: they cause serious damage.

The best time to fight the conquerors: the end of the winter period. During this period, they are not yet active enough and are too scattered, so a minimum of forces will be needed to destroy them. During the period of active activities associated with the use of hazardous substances, it is necessary to remove household members and animals from the site.

Bees' home

Ground bees, true to their name, live in the ground. They themselves are not very willing to dig holes for themselves; they often use those free from rodents. They live in a swarm and build a home for themselves, only inside. One queen begins:

1. Finds a suitable place.
2. They build a hole and make a series of rooms.
3. Leaves are placed on the bottom.
4. Lay the first layer of eggs.
5. They take care of the nutrition of the first generation.
6. Nectar is placed in special chambers.

Honey extraction

Andrena magna produces dark yellow nectar that maintains its healing properties for a long period. The design of dead-end burrows that bees constantly create allows this product to be placed in them. It is perfectly preserved in natural containers due to the fact that females and males work tirelessly, strengthening the loose soil with their saliva.

Honey production is no different from the well-known process. Bees living in tunnels, like their domesticated relatives, are very hardworking and excellent at pollinating flowers and plants. After collecting the nectar, its natural fermentation occurs, then the product is placed in honeycombs and waits for its ripening time. Nectar cells do not always have an exact hexagonal shape, but take the shape of a circle, oval or square.

The honey of these bees is very similar to the usual farm product, its careful extraction will not harm the individuals. To do this, the tunnels are slightly torn and a small amount of nectar is taken, leaving part of it for the inhabitants of the dungeons so that they do not die from hunger in the future and can restore their family.

Application of boiling water

One of the control options used is to flood the bee tunnels with boiling water. Typically this process requires at least 15 liters of boiling water, although the volume of liquid may vary depending on the depth and duration of the strokes.

Important!

It is preferable to carry out this procedure in the evening, when all the inhabitants are in their shelters. The result of such manipulations during the daytime can be numerous bites of offenders.

Such actions will prevent underground inhabitants from escaping. However, when using this method of control, one should not exclude the possibility of scalding the root system of plants.

Video: Collecting honey from wild earth bees

Unfortunately, there are many who like to feast on free nectar without knowing the limits. This leads to the barbaric destruction of burrows, the destruction of honeycombs that took so long to create and an imbalance in nature. Experts recommend that there is no need and there is no threat to people purchasing a home product in a civilized way.

Experts highlight the qualities of honey: it is useful for colds, gastrointestinal problems and inflammatory processes. According to some indicators, it is considered a better product than traditional honey.

Traditional methods

The simplest old-fashioned way to get rid of earth bees in a garden plot is to pour boiling water over them. Typically a small bee colony requires 15 liters of boiling water. Please note that cold water will not help here, after it the bees survive and become aggressive.

If the area occupied by insects is very large, then more water will be needed. You should NOT be greedy, the more water the better. Because it can be quite difficult to get rid of uninvited guests.

It is best to carry out this procedure in the evening at sunset, when all the insects have returned home. BUT you need to be very careful, since there is a possibility of damaging the root system of plants standing nearby.

Some experts recommend digging up fresh settlements of wild bees, forcing them to change their place of residence. But keep in mind that the old settlements go very deep into the ground and therefore it is quite difficult to reach the bottom point of the tunnel. At the lowest point there are storerooms with nectar, so if you find honey when digging, it means that you have completely destroyed the entire home of wild bees. Having carefully dug up all the soil, you need to fill it with compost and constantly check it, because the bees can return and form their own colony in the neighborhood.

Important: you may not even notice the bite, but the consequences will not be long in coming. Therefore, protect yourself by wearing a thick suit and gloves. And keep in mind that it is impossible to get rid of these stinging insects simply by covering their homes with earth or sand. In this case, the insects become very aggressive and it will become much more difficult to eradicate them from the area.

You can use traps to catch bees. Place bottles of sugar syrup near the entrances. Bees that crawl in there will never be able to get out.

Danger to humans

Insects pose a danger to humans primarily due to their unpredictability; they sometimes attack him for no apparent reason. Often the attack is caused by only one reason: the desire of people to get their honey.

The venom released by bees contains histamine. When bitten, this substance can immediately cause swelling and muscle spasms.

The first thing you need to do if you are bitten by a bee is to quickly remove the sting and treat the area where it hit with an antihistamine. This is especially important if the person attacked by individuals is allergic. People prone to allergic reactions are advised to have a blockade in the form of a syringe with medications on hand.

If such a drug is not available, it is better to apply a cool compress with added sugar to the bite site. If the victim has already experienced the effects of allergies or has been bitten too many times, and some of them were on the lips or tongue, you should immediately consult a doctor. Cases of death after earth bee stings have not been recorded, but anaphylactic shock cannot be ruled out.

How to secure the site

Typically, earth bees do not cause much trouble or harm to people. Their small family usually settles close to a food source and does not interfere with human habitation. But they happen; they are attracted to gardeners without knowing it.

Honey plants are very popular with bees, who prefer to feed on their pollen and nectar. A large number of them will attract Hymenoptera.

Accordingly, it's the other way around. There are those plants that repel insects with their smell. These include:

• lavender;
• calendula;
• basil;

• Melissa;
• sagebrush;
• mint.

Is it necessary to fight earthly inhabitants?

The fight against the population must begin with finding the shelter where it has settled, otherwise all efforts will be in vain. Next, experts advise using one of the effective methods of destroying the bee community:

• Fill the settlement with boiling water, taking into account that you will need a lot of water, since you will have to fill all the passages. If one or two bees survive, they can start a colony again;
• digging up the soil will be an effective method if the tunnels of the underground inhabitants are not located too deep and it is impossible to reach them with a shovel. During digging, you must wear a mask and protective suit;
• installing traps - bottles with syrup, into which the Hymenoptera will fall as soon as they fly out of the nest, is considered a simple and safe method;
• chemicals: for example, Dichlorvos and Delta Zone: popular products, they allow you to get rid of bee clusters with almost one hundred percent certainty. Before chemical treatment, smoke is released into the tunnels, which significantly reduces their activity.

Experts recommend preventing the spread of underground insects on the site in advance. There are several simple ways to do this: do not plant flowers in flower beds that emit too strong a smell or plant lavender, the aroma of the flower repels hymenoptera. On the contrary, if celery, parsley and sunflower grow in the garden, then bees can become frequent guests of garden plots.

What you need to know about security

Ground bees are dangerous representatives of the species. Although they themselves do not attack on a whim or of their own accord. But in case of danger, they will launch their attack.

When working with bees, you must follow safety precautions:

1. Wear a protective suit when working to protect against bees.

   Protective suit for working with bees.

2. It is better to work in the dark, when insects are less active.
3. Chemicals should be diluted and used strictly according to instructions.
4. If insects begin to attack, it is better to flee. They attack as a whole group very easily and quickly.
5. During work, protect children and pets, even warn neighbors.

Offspring

Only after creating an underground home does the queen go to the most remote part of the nest, where she lays eggs in wax cells. Periodically, before laying eggs, some varieties of ground bees place plant fibers or finely chopped pieces of leaves into the cells.

As the larvae grow, the female bee gradually begins to increase the size of the cells in which the offspring live. Once the offspring become mature, the queen dies. This happens to almost all varieties of ground bees. But only the female Galactus sphecodes is able to survive even the most severe frosts. And the young, actively growing and developing, begin to do the same as the rest of their brothers: to obtain honey and nectar.

Characteristics

As the name suggests, earth bees live in the ground. This is where one of the main problems associated with them appears: they dig holes in the ground, thereby interfering with planting and spoiling the appearance. And, although their relatively small size does not allow them to compare with any moles, nevertheless, their burrows turn out to be quite deep and branched: after all, they not only live there, but also store honey, work... In other words, they do everything that like ordinary bees in hives.

By the way, since we mentioned the relatively (!) small sizes, it is worth saying that these words are written exactly this way and not otherwise, not at all by chance. Ground bees are noticeably larger than their forest or domesticated relatives. So, some of them reach two centimeters in length - and this is the most popular breed called Andrena Magna. And there are those that are even larger!

If you look closely, you can notice other differences from the more familiar breeds: for example, color features. The same Andrena, for example, is black with separate yellow spots on the head and abdomen, in addition, they are entirely covered with fluff - not only the body, but also the legs and head.