Saw some bumble bees maybe a month ago here in Scotland - before there were any flowers out (at least, any flowers any places I visited, I'm sure there would have been some out somewhere).
I'm sure the cold and windy weather has probably driven them back to their nests and hives for now - presumably that means feeding off their reserves instead of flowers, does this mean they will be low on reserves this year and through the next winter?
Hopefully they will become a crowd when their nests get up to full speed.
Stacks of bee friendly flowers all open to entice them. The blackberry's following my experiment ,earlier post ,are covered in bloom instead of just the top bud.
One sort of bee seems to have decided they have a mission in life to visit these blooms.
I suppose so many open means life becomes easier to collect pollen than going from one bunch to another for just one flower.
All seem to have set for which promises to be a bumper harvest to come..
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Plenty of bumble and solitary bees on my raspberries here in Somerset. I hope my beans begin to flower soon.
Saw some bumble bees maybe a month ago here in Scotland - before there were any flowers out (at least, any flowers any places I visited, I'm sure there would have been some out somewhere).
I'm sure the cold and windy weather has probably driven them back to their nests and hives for now - presumably that means feeding off their reserves instead of flowers, does this mean they will be low on reserves this year and through the next winter?
Just an update.
About a dozen or so today .Five different types.
Hopefully they will become a crowd when their nests get up to full speed.
Stacks of bee friendly flowers all open to entice them. The blackberry's following my experiment ,earlier post ,are covered in bloom instead of just the top bud.
One sort of bee seems to have decided they have a mission in life to visit these blooms.
I suppose so many open means life becomes easier to collect pollen than going from one bunch to another for just one flower.
All seem to have set for which promises to be a bumper harvest to come..
Loads on my Rhododendrons yesterday - the pollen sacks on their legs were bulging.
Few bumbles also flying around last night.
We live in West Norfolk.