Any Idea What Kind of Bee This is?

[Martin109]

There's obviously a little nest in a small roof space above an entrance lobby.

Here's one having a rest, or a bit clapped out, or something...

Resting bee...

[Sergeant Pluck]

Tree bumblebee I think. New to the UK about 20 years ago.

[Martin109]

Interesting.  Thank you!

[hatler]

See https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bee-count/great-british-bee-count-bee-identification-guide

[sam]

I remember reading something that really stuck with me (and it was a tweet, of all things): “Bees are more important than you.” After due consideration I had to agree.

This particular beekeeper used to be the village doctor. I ran into him out in a meadow one day looking after his buzzy little flock. He might have been neck and neck with the bees.

[Legs]

Who in their right mind would use a WBC hive?

[sam]

As he died late last year, he’s beyond earthly interrogation.

It sounds as if you’re in the “Victorian Monstrosity” camp. For those who don’t know what a WBC hive is – and this included me until about 10 minutes ago – it’s named after William Broughton Carr. According to The Honey Shop, “These are the classic hives of the past that you see on paintings and cards. In theory it is a good hive, cool in summer and warm in winter and ideal for bees…The main problems with them are that they are complicated in construction and extremely difficult to move to another site with bees in.”

I don’t know how long he’d been beekeeping, but he was in his 80s when I met him; at a guess, I’d say he was old-fashioned.

[Wowbagger]

WBC hives also have a relatively small brood box. This tends to increase the risk of swarming.

[sam]

That's something to bear in mind the next time I feel the urge to snap away near a WBC without wearing what I can’t help but now think of as a Victorian space suit.

[Wowbagger]

WBC hives also have a relatively small brood box. This tends to increase the risk of swarming.

Actually, I learned recently that it is apparently possible to put any brood box inside a WBC outer - although there may be different sizes of WBC outer. The hives I am currently playing with are made of thick polystyrene, which apparently has better insulating properties than wood for the winter months.

I don't know why beekeepers prefer WBCs. I was at Rufford NT site in Lancs last week, and their hives were WBCs.