Wight Bumblees: A Sure Sign of Spring.

Monday, 6 April 2015

A Sure Sign of Spring.

At last the spring weather has arrived with a warm and sunny day and the prospect of it continuing for a while yet.

A sure sign of spring was my first sighting of a Hairy-footed Flower Bee,Anthophora plumipes in my garden.The flowers are now bursting into bloom and this species will be seen hovering around the plants taking nectar. Anthophora plumipes should be with us in the south of England until mid June.

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In the UK there are twenty four species of bumblebee but only eight are commonly found in most places.Bumblebees occupy a variety of habitats and most of us should be able to attract them to our gardens if we have the right kinds of flowering plants.

On the Isle of Wight eleven species have been recorded including the eight ommon ones which are Tree,Garden,Heath,Red-tailed,White-tailed,Common Carder,Early,and Buff-tailed.There are also records of three much less encountered species,the Field Cuckoo,the Vestal Cuckoo, and the Hill Cuckoo.

These latter three are parasitic bumblebees that lay their eggs in other species nests and then kill the resident queen.The occupants of the nest then rear the cuckoos' offspring unaware that it is not their own species.

There are over two hundred species of solitary bee in the UK and most can be very difficult to tell apart.

They are so named because they do not live in colonies, unlike bumblebees and honeybees.Their nests range from hollow plant stems to holes in cliffs,walls,and in the ground.

All solitary bees are first class pollinators and should be made welcome in our gardens.

Title Photo

Monday, 6 April 2015

A Sure Sign of Spring.

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