Hedge humming with bees

[seeyouinanotherlifewhenwearebothcats]

So we have this tree at the edge of our patio, plant net identifies it as garden privet? It is literally buzzing. I spotted 10 bees on it at once this morning and am getting concerned there may be a nest? Husband is going to take a closer look later but is this maybe just the norm for bees to be attracted to this? I’m delighted to have bees in the garden but with two young children I’m just a bit concerned about a potential nest.

They are just bees collecting nectar from the flowers, that's all. And yes, it is a privet. Very good for bees, and bees are good for the planet.

Nothing to worry about at all, and the bees aren't nesting or swarming, they are just feeding.

If you are concerned, get in touch with your local Beekeeping Group and they will advise you.

When it's sunny I have bees all over my Catmint. In fact there are so many I can't weed that part of the garden !

Lovely. We need more bees. They must really like it.

My neighbour has some in their garden, it is covered in bees. 10 at one time doesn't sound like very much.

They travel a fair distance so it's unlikely that there's a nest anywhere nearby when there are a small number in your garden. Bees aren't aggressive, they really don't want to sting, so your DC will be fine so long as they don't try to catch the bees.

I have a lot of bee friendly plants, there is a fuchsia right beside my car that they go nuts for. Sometimes it sounds like a small engine there are so many of them buzzing in it. To get from my car to the front door I walk so close to the fuchsia that I actually brush it with my right arm and I haven't been stung in over a decade living here.

Bastard wasps on the other hand ...

Happy days, thanks all I’ll just enjoy watching them come and go then. We have lots of bee friendly plants but this one is really flavour of the month at the moment! 🐝

I've got something similar in my front garden - new neighbour expressed his intent to remove it and replace with a fence (which I'm horrified at) so I try to keep it trimmed and tidy so he doesn't have to spend time doing it (his reason for removal!) . Went to trim it on Sunday and there were dozens of bees on it all happily guzzling the pollen in the flowers.

Trees and shrubs are vital for bees, along with garden flowers.

I think you'll be fine with the little ones, assuming they don't actually try and hold or catch the bees. We have a lot of plants in our garden and near us that are very popular with bees and my almost 2 year old has never been stung even when he puts his hand out to stroke them. Bees are pretty docile.

Thank you all. Yeah the children know the importance of bees and how we are happy to see them in the garden. We seem to have had an uptick of all pollinators recently, had two massive butterflies in the car when we got in today! 😆