If you’ve spotted a black and yellow flying insect digging into the ground it might be a Mining bee. Also referred to as digger bees, these flying insects are solitary bees which nest in burrows in the ground. Unlike many social wasps and bees controlled by a queen they don’t form long-lived colonies, nor do they live inside one well-defended nest. Instead, each mining bee female usually digs an individual burrow to rear her own young. Mining bees are not aggressive and can be good for the garden.
Mining bees occur in loose groups, but are not social insects like honey bees or paper wasps. They are what’s called ‘sub-social’ in that they don’t have a hive of divide labour between workers and queens like fully social bees and wasps, they have a commune-like system where there all live in the same place and they are all closely related and share resources including food locations, but they rear their own young. So, they are primitive social insects- evolution isn’t dull!
Miner bees can sting, but only do it very rarely and only when defending their eggs. Their stings don’t hurt much either: they only rate a 1.0 on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index.
In the garden Mining bees are extremely beneficial insects. They pollinate many different types of plants and their burrowing does not harm vegetation and may be beneficial in aerating the soil. If you do have them in the garden it would be advisable to wear shoes as they are not likely to sting you unless you tread on them. If they are really causing a problem, wait until autumn/winter and dig the nests up or turn the soil over in that area. The brood chambers won’t be that deep and it should prevent recurrence the following year.
The Schmidt Sting Pain Index: it’s like a wine list for your nervous system.
My gardenis infested for the third year running with miner bees each in increased numbers. I am loathed to kill them as they don’t seem aggressive. They do frighten visitors! Aye Ray
Please publicise the benefits of miner bees. Without them our crops stand to fail as honey bees and bumble bees decline. Last summer I stopped two neighbours spraying these wonderful insects with insecticide and gave them printouts to educate them. That is two people in one road who thought they were hornets!! How many more across the country are so ignorant?
We have masses of Miner Bees (or we’re told they are) outside our Front door on our lawn during the day and are most concerning when we want to enter and leave the house, can you re-assure us that they are in fact harmless as they resemble wasps. They were there last year, would they have left larvae? ie can we expect them every year from now on?
Miner bees can sting, but this is very rare & the sting will not usually penetrate human skin. They are generally harmless & good for your garden – pollinating plants & aerating soil. Wearing shoes in the garden is a good idea, as they might sting if you tread on them. In late autumn or winter you can dig the nests up, turn the soil over & compact it in that area, this may deter them from nesting the following year as compacting the soil makes it more difficult for them.
And there I was thinking they were worm casts.
It is a delight to see them and I shall let all my neighbours know that they are good, especially as we are surrounded by fields with loads of wild flowers etc
Hi we have a huge qty of what we all believe to be as Mining bees all out on our allotments, can anybody explain theses bees why are thy all coming out of the ground in September making holes and clearly mating and going back underground is this nit the wrong time of year. Tanks Wendy
Hi Wendy, our Entomologist suggests these may be ‘digger wasps’ – these are solitary wasps with each female tending her own eggs. If the soil conditions are right several females will use the same area, giving the appearance of a single large nest. The warm, dry spell could well have prolonged their activity. Wait till the colder weather stops the activity and then dig over the area.
We have had a large number of bees visit us for the last three years. They usually come in about September and occupy the front lawn. The lawn at their height is a carpet of bees, clearly mating and burrowing into the lawn and creating a lunar landscape of casts. I am loath to disturb them so last mowings of the lawn go on hold and we live with it. What I can’t quite understand is the life cycle as we only see them in September until the cold weather kills them off or deters them. However we don’t seem to see the hatch – when would that normally be? I don’t think we have killed them off as the only thing I may do is run the lawn mower over them at the end of the season, which by the way is not easy as the well burrowed lawn tends to rip up with the wheels.
Any info would be gratefully accepted.
Kind Regards
David
Hi David, our Entomologist says they are likely to be mining bees. They will emerge next spring and cutting the lawn will not affect them.
I am highly allergic to wasps/hornets having to carry 2 epipens, steroids and braclets. My allotment last year had (bees) burrowing just at the edge of my plotwhich I dug up in the winter. This year I have an infestation covering the whole plot, even hard compacted soil betweenmy fruit . In fact everywhere, some are small darker colour the remaining ones are a bit bigger and lighter in colour. What do I do, The allotment manager at the council ,is employing men to dig one foot deep. applying Jeyes fluid, covering in black plastic for a while.
BUT will they come back next year, The remaining 30 plots have no sign of any bees. Im panicking but enjoy my allotment so much. Any resoluting suggestions much appreciated.
Hi Sandy, our Entomologist says these are a type of mining bee. They are unlikely to sting and if they do try, it rarely penetrates the skin. They would only sting to defend damage to their nest. They like sandy/loamy soil and will return each year to this soil type. If you could change the consistency of the soil on your allotment so that it doesn’t favour the light sandy/loamy texture they like to burrow then they should look elsewhere to nest. If you still have concerns regarding your allergic sensitivity they can be treated professionally.
We have mining bees next to our patio, which i want to extend by about 4 slabs (literally 4 slabs not rows, useless builders). However, if i do that it will be right over half the nests (the other half already use the gaps between the existing wonky patio to nest). Will extending over the nests stop them coming back/kill them off? I don’t want to deter them as they’re harmless and interesting to watch (even the cats think so).
Hi Les, one of our Entomologist’s says – Placing the slabs over that areas will prevent them from nesting or emerging but if there is still sandy soil in the garden you will find they will move into that area. Hopefully you will still get them in the rest of the lawn. It would be worth putting in a bug hotel which contains bamboo sticks to help with other solitary bees.
Hello! How can one tell digger wasps from mining bees? We have wasps/bees under patio slabs, they use gaps between the slabs to come out, making little mounds. There are usually 3–4 of them out at the same time. I understand that mining bees are harmless. Are digger wasps harmless, too?
Hi Nadia, our Entomologist says – In the UK there are around 110 species of digger wasps and 65 species of mining Bee. Both groups belong to the order Hymenoptera and are classed as solitary insects in that they do not live in a social group like honey bees and common wasps. Instead the females make their own nest individually and lay their own eggs within it.
Both species have a constricted waist but as a (very) general rule digger wasps are slim and not very hairy whereas the mining Bees tend to be much more hairy and slightly plumper. Digger wasps have a much more exaggerated constricted waist.
Only females have the ability to sting and both groups are on the whole very placid and do not sting in defence with their sting being used to catch prey instead . They can sting humans but only if they feel threatened (i.e. being squeezed or gripped) and this is a last resort. These are fascinating insects and are essential pollinators and pest controllers within the garden in that they take live pest insects as prey. The nesting season is short lived.