Wednesday 1 May 2013

A short life

Sadly, after surviving one of the coldest winters on record this Buff Tailed Bumblebee, Bombus Terrestris, sadly didn't make it to creating her own nest.

Found by the eagle eyes of my daughter on our first BeeWalk of the year, this specimen was found on an old pathway, so ther's every chance it was simply trodden on by one of the many dog walkers. However, its body was in good condition so perhaps it was a case of starvation, as not many of the nectar giving plants have even started to grow on Lowestoft North Denes.

Hopefully we won't find too many more like this one.

Sadly, this one didn't make it.

Saturday 27 April 2013

2013 Bumblebees begin!

Finally, after a long, cold winter the spring and warmer weather finally encouraged our bumblebee species to emerge to start the search for this years nesting sites.

Having done a couple of bee walks already and seen mostly Buff Tailed, bombus terrestris as they are usually first to emerge. I had seen one Queen Common Carder, bombus pascuorum at Carlton Marshes.

I finally saw my first Red Tailed Bumblebee, bombus lapidarius which looked as if it had been collecting pollen, hopefully for the feeding of the first female worker bees.

As the days pass now, there will be more and more Queen bumblebees on the wing so keep your eyes peeled!

Red Tailed Bumblebee taking a rest