"We are from Albuquerque, NM, USA and have a nest of beautiful black and yellow ground bees (we call them bumble bees). They love the orange trumpet vine in our courtyard and we don't want to kill them. We just want to move them a bit further away from the back door." Hmmm...if these are really bumble bees, it is unlikely that they will be in the same place next year. I am not certain of your climate, but I think it is pretty cold during the winter. If so, you almost certainly have a species of bumblebee that does not overwinter (there are many, many species of bumblebees). In temperate climates all bumblebees but the queen die during the winter. The queen goes into a state of something like hibernation, and overwinters in debris (leaves, twigs, pine needles, etc.) on top of the ground. In spring she comes back to life and searches for a cavity for a nest. Mouse cavities are frequently chosen. It is said she rarely occupies a nest from a previous year, and there is speculation that is an adaptation to minimize disease. She raises the first batch of larvae to adult on her own, i.e., with no help. As she had the entire job, the first adults are quite small. After the first batch, she only lays eggs and the adults take over the jobs of feeding, tending the nest, etc. As the larvae are better fed, they grow into larger bees, which is why the jumbo bumblebees are found in late summer and fall. So, you are unlikely to have the bumblebees so close to your house again...or at least in the same spot! Lloyd Email [log in to unmask] Owner, Ross Rounds(tm), the finest in comb honey production. http://www.rossrounds.com