04/09/2024
Fluffy young queen bees are busy flying in the garden - but check out what the Bumblebee Conservation Trust has to say about the bumble bees you can see in
Which ones have you seen?
September is your last chance to see many of the UK’s common bumblebees ⚠️
This month, many bumblebee nests will naturally come to an end and new queens will settle down to hibernate over the winter 👑💤
👑 Bumblebee queens begin to emerge from hibernation in spring, when rising temperatures and longer days awaken them from their winter snooze in the soil.
💤 When a queen first emerges, she spends some time resting in order to wake up properly.
🌷 Once fully awake she feeds on flowers to gain energy.
🏠 Then begins the search for a suitable nest site: holes in the ground, long grass, bird boxes and beneath garden sheds.
🌼 Having chosen her nest site, the queen will feed on more flowers and lay her first batch of eggs.
🐛 Little white larvae hatch, feed on collected pollen, and then develop into adult workers.
💼 These smaller females carry out work inside and outside the nest.
👑 Queens remain inside the nest, laying more eggs for the next batch of workers.
🚹 Towards the end of a nest, males are produced and leave. They do not collect pollen. Instead, they spend their time feeding on nectar and trying to mate with queens from other nests.
🔋 Once mated, new queens feed heavily on pollen and nectar, storing the energy as fat inside their bodies to provide energy during a long hibernation.
🍂 The old queen and her nest will naturally come to an end as summer turns into autumn. Only the new queens survive until the following spring by hibernating underground.
What bumblebees have you spotted this summer?
🆘 The UK's bumblebees are in crisis. Donate today 👉 https://ow.ly/pCR150T7kGm
