Wanted to attract bees, but instead I have a lot of wasps

[Schoolschooly]

Maybe it’s the time of year? Or maybe a nest nearby?

But what can I do to tempt bees back instead of wasps? (Or as well as, but I’m wondering if they don’t cohabit since, last year, I had lots of bees and no wasps and now the other way round).

I’ve planted lots of bee-happy plants. Any other advice?

I’m quite a novice!

Just the time of year, I think. It is very similar in my garden at the moment.

Are you sure they aren't hoverflies? The do look like wasps.

I think it is just the time of year. But yes the number of mimic hoverflies is ludicrous.
As some bumble bee colonies die off (you may have seen a few giant bumble bees about in the last month, they are the queens for next year), but it means this years colonies are sadly finishing.

It’s good to have a mixture of flowers for short tongues and long tongued bees. That helps increase the species of bees you have. I’ve made a bee pub, (Small pebbles bowl with water) but the bees don’t visit just the wasps.
Another nice thing to do is look at the mason bee guardian scheme. They send you your own solitary bees!!! It’s incredible to watch them hatching out their cocoons and making new ones. You then send your cocoons back for an mot and they send you more back the next year.

But keep planting and they will come. My garden is literally buzzing now, butterflies and bees. It was Completely free of nature when we moved in.

Agree with others, just the time of year. My garden has been abuzz with bumble and honey bees for about 2 months as I got a cheap packet of bee friendly seeds and planted them in pots and they went mad for them.

I've got a pond so lots of honeybees sat on the waterlilys for a drink but now it's the wasps turn

Now it's a few honeybees, lots of wasps, hoverflies and other weird things flying about. Going to save all the seeds and sew them next year in more pots :) was lovely seeing them all.

Agree about providing water. In the last few weeks I have had constant streams of bees drinking in the bird bath. Apparently a hive needs about a litre of water a day to keep it cool, which seems a huge amount to me, but that's what I read on Google. If you put plenty of stones and pebbles in a shallow dish and fill it with water they are allegedly not so liable to fall in. I have had to rescue quite a few from the bird bath, which they perversely seem to prefer to their own shallow dish with pebbles!

Also think about providing early and late season pollen sources. Ivy and sedum are good for Autumn pollen. Lots of bulbs and Spring flowering shrubs can help in the early part of the year.