Garden Bumblebee
Bombus hortorum is one of the most common bumblebees in the UK. It’s also one of the biggest, with queens coming in at close to 2cm in length, and males and workers at around 1.5cm. It’s commonly called the Garden … Continued
Common Carder
My day began well, with a productive invertebrate hunt while the morning was still cool after overnight frost. Then things went badly awry, when I decided to tidy up the little free-standing container pond on the patio, and discovered that … Continued
Aromatherapy
It was sleeping bumblebee day in the garden today. I followed this huge Bombus terrestris queen around the Viburnum tinus as she sipped from some of the flowers, then watched her land on a leaf, tuck in all her legs … Continued
Eye of the storm
There’s a luxurious patch of ivy growing along the top of the tall old farm wall that borders our yard, which flowers later than any other ivy in the area. Given that it’s south-facing, I have absolutely no idea why … Continued
First off the blocks
Yesterday evening the heatwave broke and it started to rain. I lay in bed listening to the grass growing outside, and reflecting on the fact that having recently bought just about every mower and grass trimmer available to man, it … Continued
Red-tailed male
A couple of months ago I posted a male Early Bumblebee, and talked about the only two UK bees with which he might potentially be confused. Of these, I’ve never seen a Bilberry Bumblebee (Bombus monticola), and certainly wouldn’t expect … Continued
