AS WE MOVE into May, spring is getting into full swing and the days are getting warmer. This will provide us with more opportunities to see flying insects such as butterflies and bees.
Currently, there’s a lot of concern about the status of the UK’s bumblebees. Of the 24 (or so) species found here, most, if not all, are in decline and a further two species were declared extinct during the 20th century.
Much of this decline is thought to be connected, almost inevitably, to habitat loss. Bees are particularly vulnerable since they have a limited dietary range and are entirely reliant on the nectar provided by flowers. The majority of species are also highly social, which means they need a lot of flowers to support their colonies.
In terms of social structure, each colony will have a single queen who will do all the egg-laying, although she will produce new queens towards the end of the summer. These will leave the nest to found new colonies elsewhere. Other females make up the sterile workforce. Male offspring are produced in late summer and these will go on to mate with queens from other nests.
Incidentally, if you’re ever stung by a bee it’ll be a female. The stinger is actually an adapted ovipositor – that’s the tube used to lay eggs.
One of our most common species is the buff-tailed bumblebee (pictured below). Despite the name, it’s only the queens who are really buff-tailed – males and workers have white tails. Both sexes are predominantly black, but with two broad yellow bands. One of these bands is across the top of the thorax (the bee’s middle bit), the other across the abdomen (the bottom bit). It’s also one of the UK’s largest bumblebees, with queens sometimes exceeding 2cm in length, although males and workers are often noticeably smaller. Buff-tails nest underground, often in an abandoned mouse hole, and these nests may contain several hundred bees.
The tree bumblebee (pictured below) is a newcomer to our countryside, having been first recorded in Scotland in 2013. As the name suggests, this species can often be found in and around trees, and will often nest in old bird boxes. They will also happily nest in roof spaces and other artificial sites, making them quite likely to be seen in and around gardens.
Tree bumblebees are relatively easy to identify. The abdomen is black with a white tail, but the really distinctive bit is the completely ginger-brown thorax. The sexes are similar in appearance, although the queens are usually noticeably larger than males and workers.
Bees are not only lovely wee beasties, but they’re also a vital part of our countryside. They pollinate wildflowers and food crops, including tomatoes, apples and potatoes. So, if there’s no bees, there’s no chips – and that’s not a world I want to live in!
We can all help by planting wildflowers, preferably native species which have evolved alongside native bees. You don’t need acres of space – a window box will do the job. Or even just leave wildflowers alone rather than obsessively mowing them. Even those scabby dandelions that I wrote about last month can provide valuable nectar.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is an excellent source of information for anyone interested in getting involved.
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