have a look at this bee factsheet and see what best describes your ...

Bee information provided by the Norfolk Bee Keeping AssociationResponsibility for bee swarmsThe swarm is not the responsibility of the beekeeper. The swarm isthe responsibility of the person on whose property it has settled andremains so until it has been removed. In the event that it cannotsafely be removed then the owner of the property must decide onwhat action he or she will take.Solitary BeesThese are sometimes referred to as mining bees as they make small holes in the soft mortarjoints in brickwork. Holes in airbrick's, and the ends of garden canes, are also used by thebees for egg laying.They look like honey bees but are sometimes slightly larger and slower in their movements.They can appear in April when the weather warms up and the eggs, which are laid theprevious spring, hatch and adult bees appear. The adults usually survive about 6-8 weeksand during this time they mate and, in the holes from which they have emerged, lay the eggsfor next years bees.Most do not sting and any that could do not because the sting is normally too weak topenetrate the human skin. Left alone they will not usually cause any harm. The numbersappearing at any one time is about 20/50 and unlike the honey bee they do not swarm.It is almost impossible to remove them and it is illegal to poison them. To try and stop themreappearing next year, the holes could be blocked with new mortar or some type of builder'ssealant. It is unwise to block airbricks as they are there for a purpose and should be left open.They are useful as pollinators, so will be seen working on flowers along with the honey bee.Bumble beesThese are easy to identify with their round black furry bodies andfootball jersey liked stripes of either: yellow, orange or rustycoloured.The "Queen" emerges from hibernation in the spring and feeds onnectar and pollen. When the time is right she then searches out asite for the nest, this could be:disused mouse nests undergroundcompost heaps or bins (these are favourite places)unused bird nesting boxesunder garden sheds and other buildings (another favourite place)in wood pilesin thick tufts of grass.Once the site has been selected the queen then starts to lay eggs and from these come theyoung bees, which are small to start with but grow quite quickly if sufficient food is available.A bumble bee nest usually never totals more than a few hundred bees, often quite a lot less.