Wight Bumblees: February 2019

Thursday, 14 February 2019

First Bumblebee Sighting of the year.

We are now enjoying a few days of mild and settled weather and spring it seems is just around the corner.Therefore I was pleased to see my first bumblebee of the year,a Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) busily buzzing in and out of our garden hellebores this morning.

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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

Thursday, 14 February 2019

First Bumblebee Sighting of the year.