Have you seen this Bee?

I've been reading about a new species of bee in this article in the Telegraph written by Ken Thompson. It’s not really a new species; this bee is a Tree Bumble (Bombus hypnorum) from Europe and like its name suggests lives in trees, unlike our other species which tend to live in nests in the ground.

The experts believe that the Tree Bumble has made its way to our shores over the past 10 years, arriving under its own steam across the Channel from France and Belgium. It has not been introduced artificially by us, so it’s not an invasive species. As Ken says in the article “technically that makes the tree bumblebee a native species, because it spread naturally from an area where it was already native”. It’s not a threat to our other species that tend to live in the ground, and is unlikely to compete with them for homes or other resources. Actually six of our native species are doing quite well, although some British bumble bee species have been in decline.

Bombus Hypnorum hasn’t quite colonised all of the UK, yet. The Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society are recording sightings of this Bee, so if you have seen it please let them know, especially if you are in Scotland, Ireland or the Isle of Man. It’s very distinctive; it has a ginger thorax, black abdomen and white tail and as bees go, looks quite fluffy and cute.

I actually found one on my Mum's Cotoneaster plant today - I'll try to capture a picture of it over the weekend.

If you would like to read more about Bumblebees follow this link to the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust.

WANTED: Bombus Hypnorum - photo from the article in the Telegraph mentioned earlier

A Map of the UK from www.bwars.com showing the spread of Tree Bumbles up to 2011

Bumble Bees En Mass

At work over the last few days I have seen many Bumble Bees on the bushes around the building. I'm not sure what kind of bush it is but it stretches for 10 plus metres on one side of the building and even more at the other side. The Bees I saw were mainly big black and yellow Bumble Bees and brown Bumble Bees; there were also a few Honey Bees knocking about but not as many. Intrigued at what kind of Bumble Bees they were I did a quick google search for Bumble Bee identification and came across the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust or BBCT. Using the guide found at this link, I believe the Bumble's that I was seeing were mainly Common Carder Bee, or Bombus Pascuorum and the Garden Bumble Bee, or Bombus Hortorum. The vast majority of them were the Carder Bee and I believe there were several queens; I thought this due to the size of them and the presence of a few much smaller ones but with the same colour.

Since finding BBCT's site I have become a member which costs £16 per year. I'm looking forward to getting my welcome pack. The welcome pack includes a chart for identifying Bumble Bees, a pin badge, a car sticker and a packet of Bee friendly seeds, along with a newsletter. If anyone fancies joining or more info on Bumble's then the link is here.

The BBCT site also gives a helpful guide on what flowers to plant to help Bees. This is a breakdown of the list and I have (painstakingly) added wikipedia links to all the different plants mentioned in the guide

• March - April :- Apple, Bluebell, Broom, Bugle, Cherry, Erica carnea (heather), Flowering Currant, Lungwort (Pulmonaria), Pear, Plum,  Pussy Willow, Red dead-nettle, Rosemary, White dead-nettle
• May - June :- Alliums, Aquilegia, Birds-foot trefoil, Bugle, Bush vetch, Campanula, Ceanothus, Chives, Comfrey, Cotoneaster, Escallonia, Everlasting Pea, Everlasting wallflower, Foxglove, Geranium, Honeysuckle, Kidney Vetch, Laburnum, Lupin,  Monkshood, Poppies, Raspberries,

  Red Campion, Roses (singles), Sage, Salvia, Thyme, Tufted vetch, Meadow Cranesbill, White Clover, Wisteria, Woundwort
•  July - September :- Black horehound, Borage, Bramble, Cardoon, Catmint, Cornflower, Delphinium, Heathers, Hollyhock, Hyssop, Knapweed, Lavender, Lesser burdock, Marjoram, Melilot, Mint, Penstemon, Phacelia, Polemonium, Purple loosestrife, Red bartsia, Red clover,  Rock-rose, Sainfoin, Scabious, Sea Holly, Snapdragons, St. Johns Wort, Sunflower, Teasel, Thistles, Viper's bugloss

This is a picture of the bush that they were feasting on. It was taken on my phone so isn't very good quality and I didn't even try to take any pictures of the Bees (mainly because I'd have had to get very close and would have looked a fool if anyone looked out of the window at work and also they were too busy and moving about a lot). I have done a bit of research on google and believe this bush is a species of cotoneaster or pyracantha although I could be completely wrong. At some point I may try to get a cutting for my own garden.