Bumblebees

White-tailed Bumblebee

A bit of sun has brought out the insects in our garden including this bumblebee.  I was surprised to find out there are 24 different species of bumblebee in this country and 275 worldwide.  Most  are found in the northern hemisphere, their furry coats making them more suited to colder climates.

The bumblebee in the featured image is a White-tailed Bumblebee, the white tail more clearly visible in image on the right.  It typically emerges in the Spring and can be seen feeding on flowers right through to the autumn. Some bumblebees prefer to nest underground in abandoned burrows of rodents, which is interesting since this particular bee appeared to bee burrowing into our back lawn.  Others prefer to nest above ground in dense grass or leaf litter.

Another interesting fact I read was bumblebees have smelly feet – after feeding on a flower they leave a scent behind, to save other bees the energy of landing on that flower, which would have little pollen left. So smelly feet can have their uses!