Sleeping a bit

Now that the colder winter months are here there is very little Bumblebee activity. However, if anyone has any sightings (and its not impossible) then please contact me with them :)

Happy Christmas to all!

Male White Tailed

Another look around Lowestoft North Denes didn't produce so much today as most of the food plants have finished flowering, leaving the bees to search elsewhere.

The standout bee was a male White Tailed bumblebee, Bombus lucorum, feeding on ragwort.

Ragwort gets a lot of bad press, but in my opinion its a bit of a life giver to many species.

Male White Tailed Bumblebee on Ragwort

Slow-mo White Tailed!

A friend of mine took the time to shoot this on 210 fps (frames per second) using a Casio Exilim.

Its an incredible slow look at how a White Tailed bumblebee, Bombus lucorum, navigtes a head of lavender.

The wing beats really amaze me. Thanks for the video Daniel!

Cracking Common carder!

Looking round my back garden this afternoon I found a Buff Tailed Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris feeding on my buddleia.

More excitingly for me though were 5 Common carder bees, Bombus pascuorum, feeding on lupin, blackberry and sweet mallow.

Although they have probably been present for longer than today, it takes my garden species to 6.



Common carder Bee & Lupin



Buff Tailed on Buddleia!

Walking around Minsmere RSPB reserve today threw up a few nice Bumblebees.

The stand out was a large Buff tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, probably a male again. Its low droning buzz as if flew from flower to flower was a lovely sound.

Probable male Buff Tailed feeding on buddleia

BIG Buff Tailed!!

Walking along Pakefield Cliff last week I spotted a really big Buff Tailed Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, resting on some common mallow.

The bee itself didnt move a muscle, which would perhaps suggest it was an early male, and the rounded abdomen would back this theory up. Males have a rounded abdomen whereas females and workers have a pointed abdomen.

See what you think, he's a beauty!

Prob male Buff Tailed Bumblebee on common mallow

5 Species at Lowestoft North Denes

A small scale survey of Lowestoft North Denes produced 5 species of Bumblebee today. Early, Red Tailed, White Tailed, Common carder and Buff Tailed were present. They are all "social" bumblebees.

Feeding on all purple food plants the thistles and common mallow were extremelly popular.

Pictured here is an Early Bumblebee, more likely a male bee.



An Early Bumblebee on Common Mallow

 More pictures to follow at a later date!!

Welcome to "The Bumblebee Gallery"

Hello all, and welcome to my new blog.

Its a very basic blog where I will post pictures of the Bumblebees that I see. Hopefully from here others will contribute with their own pictures of these fascinating, yet so very important insects.

Bees have steadily declined over the years, and it is only now that we are realising how important they are to our environment and very existence.

Hopefully these sightings and pictures will encourage others to take a little more time to notice the plight of the Bumblebee.

Thanks for reading.

Danny.

The first picture is the background picture, which is a Tree Bumbleebee, Bombus Hypnorum. They collonised in the UK as late as 2001. Mainly found in the South East, they originate from France!