Why are there bees in the basement

General Questions
#1

At my parents house about 2 weeks ago bees started appearing in the basement. I think my Dad found the hole where they were coming in and plugged it up but in those 2 weeks about 300+ bees came into the basement (not all at once, just over the course of the 2 weeks). Why would they decide to go into the basement?

Most of them acted like moths because they were attracted to the lights and what would happen is they would spend most of their time flying at the light, which made it easy to spray them. Is that a the reason they started coming into the basement, because they are attracted to lighting? We have no flowers in our basement so that can’t be a motive. Is it possible the queen got stuck in the basement and all the bees are looking for her?

Today while I was outside I saw the hole that my Dad plugged that led to the basement and about 2 or 3 bees were flying around it trying to get in. So they still want in but I can’t figure out why as that hole has been there for 30 years and this has never happened before.

#2

Are you sure that they are indeed bees? More likely they are yellow jackets. Check this link for more information. My own experience with them is that they often build nests inside wall cavities, gaining access via failed mortar joints or other openings in the building envelope. Extremely tenacious little buggers, they will burrow through caulk and expanding foam to reestablish their entry exit corridor. Good luck.

#3

Good call, I didn’t consider that they could be yellow jackets. I’ll go get a corpse and compare it to one on the internet.

#4

Now there’s a sentence you never want to see quoted out of context.

#5

Once a colony (wasps/hormets or bees) takes up residence in a wall, the workers begin looking for places to expand. If they find a hole that exits the wall, but enters the building, they simply begin exploring that exit, not really knowing that they are not outside. I had an infestation, last fall, that came into my great room and my SIL had a huge colony in her garage wall that eventually began attempting to colonize the house. They are not actually trying to explore the basement so much as they are just seeing where that exit to their colony leads. (Of course, that does not make the house any safer.)