Bumbles
Are you seeing bees around the gutter or soffits? before RINGING for a bee keeper who will already be very busy, chech to see if your bees are Bumble Bees. It's very easy to identify even at height, bumble bees are all ROUND in shape, not all the dame size as yound males are much smaller but are also round in shape. Honey bees are not round.
Also with all bees that are living with you, very often there are dead bees on the immediate space below the entrance making it very easy to identify to confirm Bumble or Honey.
Bumbles bees have a short life span, around 6 - 8 weeks.
Are your bees behaviour simply flying round and around outside the entrance early afternoon, with only a few entering the void where the nest will be?
The reason for this apparent waste of vital energy, is simple.
The bees going round and round are ALL males, which do not live at your nest, but are visiting for a single reason, they await the NEW VIRGIN QUEENS to exit so they can them mate ( then die shortly afterwards).
With this apparent activity suggests the nest is almost ready to expire next week.
The original Queen will already be dead at this time of the year, before laying next years female queens.
TREE BEES, are very common with a white rear tip on their bums.
