If you happen to see a few bees buzzing in front of a wall, they are most likely to be mason bees. These bees make their homes in naturally occurring crevices in stones, walls and even wood. In the UK we typically see the red mining bee. They look similar to mining bees and have an orange abdomen, brown thorax and black head. The females can be hairy.

These are solitary bees and no worker bees for this species exist. They do not produce honey or beeswax. They are quite docile in character and only sting if provoked – thankfully their sting is not painful. They can particularly be found in built-up areas where there are also fruit trees and gardens. They particularly feed on oil-seed rape and fruit trees.

Generally mortar bees do not do too much damage to buildings but should the fabric of a building be at risk, do call in a specialist like Beegone® who is qualified for removal of bees and for minor building works, even on listed properties.