We will hopefully be seeing more Bumblebees in our gardens through May and June as their colonies establish.
Carder Bumblebee: Richard Bedford (rspb-images.com)
Their homes are not the smart, orderly hexagonal style of the honeybee’s, it’s much more of an ad-hoc and messy clump of cavities that store their food; quite an extraordinary structure if you ever come across one tucked away in the ground or some sort of cavity. If you do find a nest, there is helpful information on the Bumblebee Conservation Trust Website on what to (and not!) to do.
Bumblebees don’t make honey but they are prolific pollinators due to their hairy bodies transferring extra pollen from plant to plant and they also pollinate by buzzing and vibrating next to the plant anthers (the small part that holds the pollen) to effectively “buzz” pollinate plants.
There are 25 species of Bumblebee in the UK including the re-introduced Short Haired Bumble bee. This bee was declared extinct in 2000 due to loss of it’s natural habitat so a re-introduction project began in Dungeness in 2011 to get them breeding here again.
Bees are essential in pollinating the plant foods that we eat as well as our beautiful wild flowers around the countryside… which we are especially enjoying at this time of year due to spending more time out in our local landscapes through lockdown. Bees are also pollinating vital food plants for our wildlife including other insects, caterpillars, birds and small mammals.
As a devastating 97% of UK wildflower meadows have disappeared since 1945, anything that we can do to help provide habitat areas or pollen rich plants for them is an invaluable contribution.
Some of the favourite plants that attract Bumblebees at this time of year in our Flatford garden are Foxgloves, Plume Thistle, Catmint, Sweet Rocket, Valerian, hardy Geraniums, Borage, Nigella and Lamb's Ears. The greater variety and bigger number of plants will attract more types of bumblebee to a garden.
The RHS have provided a helpful plants for pollinators list with a wide variety of flower suggestions and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust have an online ID guide to work out which species you are seeing buzzing around your bee friendly plants when they bloom!