Bumble Bee Nest Attack

Whilst out a dog walk tonight, I came across this rather interesting sight… a large hole dug in the bank and at the bottom of the hole a number of bumble bees!

On the outside, in the pile of soil, were a number of bees and even some larvae with the bees still trying to tend them…. so, what had happened here?

There is only one animal that will attack a bumble bee nest and raid it in this way… and that is a badger! There is a sett nearby and the strong claw marks in the soil and the power needed to dig out such a large hole told me that the badger was the only culprit! This will have been a tasty find as, judging by the size of the hole, this was quite a large nest and it would have been full of bumble bee larvae… a very tasty meal for a badger.

I think this had happened last night, as there were still bees in the base of the hole, even though the whole nest had been destroyed. A few larvae cases lay in the dug out soil and a few bees were still trying to tend these. A sad sight for the bumble bees, but a sign that the badgers are still thriving around here.

This is a popular dog walk… I wonder how many people will walk straight past this and not even notice!