are these wasps or bees and what are they doing in my cherry tree?

[Angielka]

I have a nasty feeling they are preparing to build a nest, but DH reckons they might just have found some sap or something to eat...

If they are starting a nest, is there anything we can do to put them off or do we have to call the experts in?

Grateful for any advice!

Not a Gardner but they look like honeybees to me. I've screenshot the pic and zoomed in the best I can and they're not yellow enough for wasps.

A queen has to be up and about for there to be any possibility of them swarming and this is way too small for a swarm. Even mid-swarm, if they're resting, they are in their 1000's! I'd go with the sap being sugary and a real hook for sugar-hungry worker bees.

In the highly unlikely event that they are wasps (in case my dodgy old phone isn't giving me a good enough view ) they'll also be nibbling at the bark and your fences for wood pulp to start building their papery nest. Take a look. In that instance, Google a local peat control and they should be able to sort for about £40 or so.

I definitely think honeybees though, but unless they've grown dramatically in numbers since you took the pic, they're just feeding on a lovely sugary sap.

How are they looking now?

*pest control

It could be that they can smell the scent of a queen bee there as apparently the scent last for years and they'll move on when they realise she's not actually there

Thanks so much for your answers.

welshmoth I agree - I thought they didn't look like wasps, and I've just been out again and stuck my camera up into the branch and think they look even more like honeybees. There are some hives not far from here, so maybe they've just come for the sap. There is a similar number this morning as yesterday and yes, I read about swarms and it doesn't seem anything like a big enough group for that.

bigchris how long would it take them to realise there's no queen, if it is that that's attracting them?

Agree these are honey bees.