Reviving a Tired Bumblebee.

Following yesterdays sunny spell of weather today has turned cloudy and cold. A walk in the garden led to the discovery of a queen Red-tailed bumblebee seemingly in distress at the base of our full flowering barberry bush.Of course the bee was fine as it is just having  a rest.However she could well do with some sort of reviving in order to continue her pollen collecting.So a small mixture of clean water and sugar proved to be just the ticket. Almost immediately she moved onto the saucer and seemed to enjoy the feed.Revived she then crawled off and disappeared into the border.

Further information on reviving a bee can be found here.

  

A Personal Favourite.

The fabulous Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius, is a particular favourite of mine.It is a common bumblebee and nests in a hole in the ground,sometimes under stones or at the base of a dry stone wall,hence their other common name the Stone Bumblebee.The queen pictured below emerges from hibernation in March.When the similar but much smaller workers hatch from the nest they take over pollen collecting duties while the queen concentrates on laying more eggs.An individual nest can have up to 200 bees and later in the year the males emerge.Only the newly hatched queens survive at the end of the season to hibernate and  create a colony the next spring.

In my Local Copse.

The warm and sunny weather returned today and many insects were enjoying the drifts of Common Fleabane,Pulicara dysenterica, that are now covering the open paths of my local copse.

The Honeybee,Apis mellifera,in particular, is fond of fleabane and they were out in force collecting 'basket fulls' of pollen.Known as the Western or European Honeybee it is our only native honeybee species.

Several  bumblebee species were also out and about including the Red-tailed Bumblebee on Field Scabious and Thistle.The following photographs show a male Red-tailed,Bombus lapidarius.

A Popular Spot.

I have found that my garden fence is a very popular place for bumblebees and indeed other insects to sun themselves.It faces towards the morning sun so is a good spot to warm up.

Today several bumblebees were making use of it including Red-tailed and a Buff or White-tailed worker.

More Red-tailed Out and About.

Weather continues to stay warm and sunny and in my garden a good number of Red-tailed bumblebees Bombus lapidarius are on my barberry which is now in full flower.

Red-tailed Bumblebee.

Despite cool temperatures and a blustery wind today the bumblebees were still out on their business .

The Barberry was again an important stop on the pollen trail and it is a treat to see the Red-tailed,Bombus lapidarius making a regular appearance.This is one of our common species but no less handsome all in black with that orange-red rump.

The queens emerge from hibernation at this time and find a nest to lay several eggs.These eggs hatch to create the workers who then tend to the nest and young.

The Red-tailed can be found in most habitats from springtime right through to the autumn.

Garden Visitors

Along with the early flowering Hellebore we have a Barberry in our garden which is just bursting into bloom.It is a magnet for all kinds of insects,especially bees. Today's visitors to the  shrub were Honeybees Apis mellifera as well as Tree,Buff-tailed,and Red-tailed  Bumblebees

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