Tag: bumblebee

Three bees are better than two bees

I decided to do this month’s bee walk on Saturday even though it was a bit breezy and not very warm.  I checked the weather forecast and saw cold and potentially rain for the next week or so and figured that the sunshine and a warmer week running up to Saturday might have been enough to tempt the bees out.  Unfortunately I was wrong.

During the bee survey (which lasted over an hour) we saw a grand total of three bumblebees (one unidentified, one carder bee and one red-tailed).  There was plenty out there for them to eat and we saw plenty of hoverflies and solitary bees, but virtually no bumbles.  After we had finished the survey and were walking home we found another two bees, but still five was a bit unexpected.

However, I don’t think the colder weather was to blame, after all, bumbles are furry little creatures and can manage the cold better than a lot of other insects.  I think this was a matter of timing.  Early in the year bumble queens, the only bumbles to overwinter, emerge from their winter quarters looking for food and somewhere to nest for the year.  Once they have enough nutrition they lay create a wax cup that they fill with nectar and create a pollen ball in which they lay their eggs.  After a few days these hatch into larvae which then remain in the nest for a few weeks until they metamorphose into a bee.  During this time the queen has to brood the eggs and larvae to keep them warm (hence the nectar) and she can only go out foraging for short periods of time.  Hence, I think most of the queens were in their nests and the first lot of workers have probably not emerged yet so there is a paucity of bumblebees at the moment.

Creating a buzz just Bee Cause

Friends of the Earth are hoping to create a bit of a buzz with their Bee Cause campaign.  I attended a launch event in Northampton today – the aims of the campaign are to get those in power – specifically David Cameron, to acknowledge that the government needs to adopt and implement a bee action plan.  The launch event included a couple of talks about pollinators and their habitats.

Why are bees important?  Just to clear up a misconception, it is not just bees that are important it is all of natures pollinators – insects, animals and birds – even some lizards are important pollinators elsewhere in the world.  Across the world 87% of the estimated 308,000 plant species are pollinated by insects and other fauna.

There has been a lot of coverage about the collapse of honey bee populations across the world and lots of speculation about the reasons.  However, this is not a new phenomenon and since the 1800s the UK has lost 23 species of bee and 18 species of butterflies.  More recently there has been a 75% decline in moths since the 1970s and a 25% decline in hoverflies since the 1980s.  So, it would appear that the recent problems with honey bees are only the latest in a long line of declines.  Whilst there are lots of reasons for this, the overriding issue has to be loss of suitable habitat caused by urban expansion and the intensification of agriculture and removal of woodlands and hedgerows.  Indeed Northamptonshire holds the dubious distinction of having lost more species of wildflowers than any other county.  Not something to be proud of.

So, the Bee Cause campaign aims to raise awareness of this problem and get people taking action.  I’ll be writing some more posts outlining what you can do to help our pollinators in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, if you are interested in getting involved in the campaign there is a lot of information on the FoE website.  Alternatively, if you are in the Daventry area and would like to help, give me a shout and we can work together to make Daventry a bee-friendly place.

A cold day at Ryton Organic Gardens

I rarely visit Ryton gardens at this time of year because, well, to be frank, it is even less exciting than my own garden and much colder.  However, I felt the need to go out with my camera and so I called in on my way home.

I have to admit, the drab and dreary weather (it started to rain whilst I was there) did not lessen the dull feel of the gardens, but, here or there were some hidden gems that made me think that underneath the mud and general brown tinge there was a whole host of life just waiting to get out.

There were quite a few hellebores there, but many did not look their best – not sure if it was the early morning frost or if they just needed some TLC – however, not far away were some bright points of blue – I think they are scilla – there were not enough to cover the ground, but they still grabbed my attention.

Whilst I didn’t see much in the way of edibles, the trees in the orchard were full of big, fat buds, and underneath they were planted with iris or daffodils.  The daffodils were just showing some colour, in a couple of weeks they will be amazing.

One thing that I did notice was the amount of bird life there.  They have put bird feeders in every garden.  I am not sure if they have always done this, but there are never any out in the Summer.  As a result, with every step, there was a flurry of activity as a chaffinch or blackbird or unidentifiable small bird zoomed off into the safety of the hedges.  The lack of visitors at this time of year, and the mist and drizzle lent an air of tranquility to the place.  The cacophony of bird song just added to this feeling.  One bird that I used to hear a lot more around Daventry, before they built even more houses, was the yellowhammer, so I was very surprised that to find it in the middle of the gardens.  I think it was just getting its voice back after the Winter, the song was almost there, but the characteristic wheeze at the end was much shortened.

I always like the sensory garden at Ryton – whatever the time of year they always have something flowering, and this weekend was no exception – look at the little cyclamen that I found.  I have planted corms several times in the garden, but whilst I seem to have one or two that will throw up some leaves, I never seem to get any flowers.  (However, my anenome blanda – all of which seem to be blue – have just started to come into flower.)

 

My biggest surprise of the day also came in the sensory garden – my first bumblebee of the year, foraging on some heather.  This will be a queen going out to gather food before the first of the brood start to hatch.  It just shows the importance of having some early flowering plants in the garden – mahonia and some early flowering honeysuckles are also good for the early bees.  Sorry for the poor quality picture though – I was taken a bit by surprise and she didn’t stay around for long!

 

Springing out this week.

OK, so the weather is warmer, the hint of Blackthorn flower to be glimpsed last week has erupted into a frothy, white mass and the Chiffchaffs can be heard regularly – Spring is definitely here.  So, what else has been happening out and about this week?

To start with, in my garden the Clematis Armandii is flowering away on the bottom fence, and, every now and again giving a hint of scent.  The Primroses and Hellebores are still looking great, and, the Pulmonaria is in full flower and attracting bumblebees.  The early tulips have now gone over, but the others are starting to show flower buds.Trees are now starting to show hints of lime green colour, such as this Maple / Sycamore that I pass on my way to work.

There are more flowers out for the aforementioned bumblebees, and, ergo, more bumblebees; mainly queens foraging before setting up home  – such as this one that I took a picture of whilst it was a little dazed having for some reason flown into a lampost!  On the flower front, the Celandines are particularly noticeable on sunny roadsides, as is the purple flower ground ivy.  There are also some wild violets flowering in places.

There are also more butterflies about, initially I had only seen Brimstones, but today I saw my first Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies.  I think it will not be long before the Speckled Woods are roaming up and down the old Railway Track.

On a distinctly Wintery note though, I had a Redpoll in the garden this week for the first time ever.  This is a bird I associate with Winter, and one that I have only seen in the Country Park before now (and then only once).  Very strange, it must have been passing through.  I have no idea whether it is a Lesser Redpoll or a Mealy Redpoll, however, I don’t care either.