Bumblebee
Bumblebees are among the most endearing and familiar of our insects. The sight and sound of bees droning methodically from flower to flower is a quintessential part of a summer’s day. Sadly, however, changes to the farmed countryside have not been kind to our bumblebees
The reason that bumblebees have declined in the countryside is simple. Bees feed exclusively on pollen and nectar, and there are far fewer flowers in the countryside than there once were. Hedges and marshland have disappeared and unimproved grasslands which are rich in wildflowers have been almost entirely swept away, to be replaced by silage and cereal fields. In relative terms, gardens now provide a valuable flower-rich refuge and as a result have become a stronghold for some bumblebee species. Find out how you can attract bumblebees to your garden by following the links below.
Bumblebees are social insects with an annual life cycle. The queens build nests and lay their first eggs in spring. These eggs hatch to become worker bees, which then help their mother to expand the nest and find food. By mid-summer, when nests can contain several hundred worker bees, queens start to lay both female and male eggs. The females are given extra food as they will become future queens. Eventually, the male bees and the new queens leave the nest to mate and the new queens burrow into the ground to wait out winter. The males, the worker bees and the old queen all die off in the autumn.
Read more about bumblebees
Find out how to attract bumblebees to your garden
Find out how to build a home for bumblebees
Visit the website of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
There are lots of different species of bumblebee. Which species have you spotted in your garden? Find out how to identify bumblebees
Facts
Appearance: Generally striped yellow and black, but can also have splashes of red and/or white. Some bumblebees are all brown, some rare species are all black.
Size: 15-20mm
Weight: 100-350mg - less than a paperclip
Lifespan: From four weeks to a year
Diet: Pollen and nectar
Family: Apidae
Did you know?
- The scientific name for the bumblebee is 'bombus'. The old English name is 'Dumbledore', and when writing Harry Potter, the headmaster reminded J.K Rowling of a bumblebee, so that is how the name Dumbledore came about.
- Bumblebees have smelly feet
- Chances are, every tomato you eat was pollinated by a bumblebee.
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