Bees typically nest aboveground.

But some yellowjackets and bumblebees will nest in the ground.

So, if you have the latter, the colony will die late in the year and the mated queens will overwinter elsewhere.

Hi Jean,
No, we have typical honeybees in the ground here. Pretty hard to confuse them with yellowjackets or bumbles. The rumor around here (not sure how true it is, or not) is that killer bees (AHB, africanized honey bees) are more likely to nest underground than standard honey bees.

This is the fourth hive we've found underground in the past three years. The first two we tried (semi-successfully) to kill with chemicals, and the third we managed to get up into a hive, only to have it die a few weeks later (apparenntly we didn't get the queen). I wasn't involved in the killing efforts, so I'm not exactly sure what was used, but I heard that they just poured soap water down onto the hive. Probably Sevin would work better, but that would very likely injure the two regular hives that we've got just a few feet away, so I want to avoid that option at pretty much any cost. The question is, can we capture these bees and put them into a hive, or do bees dig so far underground that we couldn't realistically get them out and into a hive. If so, and if we simply have to kill them (not my favorite option) what's the best way to kill honeybees that are hunkered down underground???
Thisbud

Hmmm. I did forget that the Africanized bees are in your area.

But if that's the case, I'd be super cautious about trying to put those bees in a hive. As I said before, the usual honey bees nest aboveground.

I'd suggest you phone your county's Extension Service to ask for suggestions. Likely the folks there know if the Africanized version are in your locale.

Or you might call the local Beekeepers Association for information and suggestions.

And still another choice would be to call a pest control comapny to deal with the critters for you. Because not all companies will do so, you may have to call around.

I'd vote for killing them....my limited understanding is that AHBs often prefer smaller sites. We get aggresive bees in some of the sprinkler control boxes where I work...don't know that they are AHB, but the volume they have to work with is ridiculously small for any colonies I've worked with.

Are yo sure they are underground, and not just entering a hole in/near the ground, then doubling back up into the shed? Bees don't dig, but they might do a litle gnawing.... so it is strange that they would find a natural cavity underground....