In spring, when meadows and grasslands are yet to fully flower, bumblebees will seek out flowering trees for their pollen. One of our Project Officers tells us more about the importance of flowering trees in spring.

Bumblebees can be pretty easy to watch. Busily feeding on a flower in a park or garden, we can get a close look at their furry bodies, big eyes and whirring wings. But it’s common to hear bumblebees without seeing them, particularly as they feed on some of their favourite spring forage, metres overhead in the branches of trees.

Flowering trees

When thinking of a bumblebee’s favourite plants, trees rarely come to mind. But some of our flowering trees can be popular dishes on the bumblebee menu early in the year.

Some of our hedgerow favourites are among these flowering trees. If they are managed well and not cut every year, they can provide for a multitude of pollinators, including bumblebees:

• The beautiful white flowers of blackthorn can transform a dense, spiny hedge into a gleaming cloud of blossom in early spring
• Hawthorn follows later, once it has unfurled some leaves alongside its flowers
• Field maple and sycamore also attract lots of bumblebees with their sweet nectar

Goat willow

As spring unfolds, goat willow (also known as pussy willow) is one of the top providers of nectar and pollen for bumblebees. Growing more than ten metres high, this tree can spread its branches wide, creating a candelabra of catkins. Starting as soft, furry buds of silver, the catkins have evolved to keep the flowers inside to protect them from harsh winter weather. The warmth of spring encourages them to burst open, revealing their gender.

Trees with golden, fluffy catkins are male. They hold pollen-dusted stamens and a little bit of nectar. The female trees hold a heart-shaped stigma atop a sweet supply of nectar. They will be buzzing with bumblebees on a fine spring day.

Willows, along with oak trees, also support some of the highest diversity of invertebrate, meaning they are essential to encourage in the landscape to support our wildlife.

Queen bumblebees in spring

Spring is a crucial time of year for queen bumblebees. They need to refuel on sugary nectar to top up their energy levels and find protein-rich pollen. This pollen is important to help the queen’s ovaries to develop so she is ready for laying eggs. A queen needs to collect enough pollen for herself and to make a food-store for the next generation of young bumblebees.

Cosy and warm in her new nest, the queen lays her eggs on top of a ball of pollen and broods them to keep them warm – as warm as 25°C. When the eggs hatch, the larvae, which resemble small grubs, feasts on the pollen for ten to twenty days. Afterwards, they spin a cocoon and pupate, like a butterfly.

The fully formed adult bumblebees emerge after two weeks. They help the queen raise the next batch of eggs until the nest reaches a few hundred workers by summer.

Why flowering trees are important in spring

Bumblebee species like the Buff-tailed (Bombus terrestris), White-tailed (Bombus lucorum) and Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) have the highest number of queens active in spring. It is often too early in the season for our meadows and grasslands to have many flowers, so flowering trees have an important role to play from March to May.

Apples, cherries, pears and plums provide beautiful blossoms beloved by bumblebees. There are an array of varieties in bloom throughout the spring. Many different species of solitary bee, including Ashy mining bees and Red mason bees, are also important pollinators of fruit trees.

How you can help

If you have space, why not help the bumblebees in your local area by planting a fruit tree and encouraging your friends and neighbours to do the same? If you have a small garden or patio, it is possible to buy dwarf varieties that are happy in a pot and will still produce big, juicy fruits to feed your local bumblebees.

24 May 2023

Our Skills for Bees: Scotland Project Officer, Annie Ives, featured as a guest on the Ramblin’ Rangers podcast, the nature-based segment on Keith Community Radio in Moray, Scotland. Annie provides a round up for anyone who didn’t catch her online!

“Awake, awake, you drowsy sleeper!”

Over the past few weeks, you might have noticed the return of a fuzzy friend. Queen bumblebees, which could have spent up to nine months hibernating, are awakening from their soil or leaf litter shelters, and flying out in search of early nectar-rich flowers to feast on and comfortable spaces to set up their nests.

In Scotland, we actually have 20 different species of bumblebee, or Foggie bummers as they are sometimes called in North-East Scotland. Many of our different species can be distinguished with the help of their different brightly coloured tails or stripe patterns.

At this time of year, as big, bright queens emerge from hibernation, early flowers such as crocuses and catkins were a vital sources of food. Next time you pass a willow tree, bursting with luminous yellow catkins, take a few minutes just to quietly sit underneath the boughs – as I did recently under the willow tree at the Glenlivet Estate Visitor Centre. You’ll be amazed at how the whole tree hums with the sound of busy bumblebees, feeding on the flowers and building themselves back up ready to start their nest. If you take a closer look, you’ll begin to notice their bright white, sandy or orange tails bobbing about as they move from flower to flower.

“Awake, awake, from your peaty soil chamber. The bilbr’y flower for your feasting.”

Looking forward over the next couple of months, we’ll be waiting with anticipation for the blaeberries to bloom. Depending on where you are from, you may have heard them called European blueberries, bilberries, whortleberries, whinberries, or Myrtle berries, but where-ever you are, the unassuming flowers of the blaeberry bush signal that spring has well and truly sprung. Later in the summer, the soft, sweet berries make a tasty treat for hillwalkers and many of us will have fond childhood memories of foraging blaeberries in abundance to make jams, tarts and pies – perhaps following the rule ‘one for me, one for the pot’. And we aren’t the only ones to enjoy the juicy, vitamin-packed crop – blaeberries are an important food source for some of our favourite Scottish creatures, from pine martens to capercaillies.

But for our beloved blaeberries to form, we rely on a wild and often overlooked little helper, doing her job now – in the spring. Over the next month or two, as the blaeberry plants bloom, she will visit many of those delicate, pink bell-shaped flowers which nod along as the spring breeze drifts through the pine forest understory and moorland edge. I’m talking, of course, about a humble bumblebee, moving pollen between the flowers, allowing them to reproduce, creating fruits and seeds in a process called pollination.

There is a particular species of bumblebee which is important for keeping our tummies filled with blaeberries. Its scientific name is Bombus monticola, which translates roughly to the mountaineer or highlander bumblebee. It’s more commonly known as the Blaeberry bumblebee in Scotland (and Bilberry bumblebee elsewhere) because of its association with higher altitude blaeberry-rich moorland.

The song I chose for the Ramblin’ Rangers podcast is a wonderful celebration of the Blaeberry bumblebee, written and performed by the award-winning folk artist Bella Hardy. The Blaeberry bumblebee has a very distinctive appearance, with two yellow stripes and a bright tail as described in Bella’s evocative lyric ‘Fetch that tail orange-red, as a candle bright flying, your light dispels gloomy mornings’. In fact, that fiery red tail covers more than half of the Blaeberry bumblebee’s abdomen and makes it distinctive from other bumblebee species with much smaller red tails. Although Bella is based in the Peak District in England – a more southern part of the Blaeberry bumblebee’s range, her gentle call for our “Little Queen of the Mountain” is just as – if not more – relevant here in Scotland, where we are lucky to have strongholds for this species in upland spaces like the Cairngorms.

“Bring the mountain alive, little bee.”

The Blaeberry bumblebee is one of four bumblebee species on the Scottish Biodiversity List – meaning that it is a conservation priority for the Scottish government. It was added to the list because of concerns that sightings have declined by more than a quarter over a 25-year period. Monitoring bumblebees and documenting their declines is fundamental to their conservation. If we don’t know which bumblebees are where, and how many – how can we protect them?

My work with the Trust on Skills for Bees: Scotland involves supporting volunteers in the Cairngorms National Park to look out for and look after bumblebees – building skills in identification and surveying. I am helping local people contribute to Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s citizen science program, BeeWalk – where volunteers walk a fixed route, monthly between March & October, counting and identify the bumblebees they see and then submitting their sightings to us. This helps us to measure how bumblebees are managing overall. We have new survey routes being set up throughout the Cairngorms National Park, including on the Glenlivet Estate and Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve, and I’d love to hear from anyone who is interested in getting involved. Over the next two years, we will also be carrying out targeted surveys to fill in some of the data gaps and find out more about how Blaeberry bumblebees and two other rare local species, are faring in this part of the world.

Sadly, we are seeing a decline in numbers for many bumblebee species, across the UK and across the globe. Habitat loss is a main driver – bumblebees can only get the nutrients they need from flowers, and in the UK, we have lost over 97% of our wildflower-rich hay meadow habitat since the 1930s. Sweeping changes in our landscape, from intensive farming to urbanisation, mean there are fewer suitable nesting spaces and fewer flowers to feed our bumblebees. And there are other threats too – bumblebees are thought to have evolved in the Tibetan plateau of the Himalaya, millions of years ago, they are large, hairy and well-adapted to the cooler, temperate climates so global warming through climate change is likely to increase the pressure on our cold-loving insects. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent – flooding can destroy underground bumblebee nests, while heatwaves and droughts desiccate the flowers they rely on for food. Bumblebees have natural parasites such as nematode worms, and have plenty of natural predators too, from great-tits and robins to badgers and foxes. They’ve evolved alongside these threats which aren’t thought to be a major cause of declines, but in combination with the other pressures that bumblebees face, they can have an effect. Research also shows that beekeeping could be having a detrimental effect on wild pollinators too, as diseases and viruses can and are jumping from domesticated honeybee hives into wild bumblebee populations, passed from bee to bee when they visit the same flowers.

The Trust works to reverse bumblebee declines through scientific research and monitoring, practical habitat work, education and engagement. We want to help you understand what you can do to support bumblebees – and trust me, everyone can do something! From helping out with our local surveys in the Cairngorms, to planting a pot of lavender on your doorstep or window box, to encouraging your council to reduce pesticide use, fundraising or just sharing our bumblebee story with your friends and family. Some of the best ways to help bumblebees are also the easiest! Leave the lawnmower in the shed and let your dandelions grow! Soon we will hear …

“an anthem of buzzing, to herald the summer in.”

If you have time you can listen to the full podcast.

Mavis King is 90 years old and has been a Trust Supportumblebee Ambassador for 20 years. We recently interviewed her at her local church, where she was running a bumblebee event.

Q: How long have you been a Bumblebee Ambassador for the Bumblebee Conseer and Brvation Trust?

A: I should think probably 20 years by now. I first watched little boys stamping on something under a tree … I went over to investigate, and they were stamping on bumblebees! That started it all, well and truly.

I started by writing to schools around the rural district. I would make enquiries and then write to the Head Teacher and say would they allow me to provide them with Trust paperwork. I liaised all the time of course with Gill Perkins, the current CEO, and the Trust CEO before her, and bit by bit it just became a habit for me to do that.

When my own great grandchildren started school, it was a good contact to have a child in the school, and then make a point to the Head Teacher. So it just, as I said, became a habit to do that.

Q: What things have you done over the years in this supporter role?

A: I’ve done lots of liasing with Gill and other Trust staff members over the years. Education is the most important area in my opinion. Over the past 20 years or so I’ve concentrated on children and education. I’ve read that there’s now an education programme aimed at juniors, but I’d like it lower than that, because those children I’ve seen stamping on bumblebees were primary school age. That really sparked me with such distress.

You’ve got to start younger at primary school. It’s a lovely juniors programme and getting this education into schools is great. But all my experience has been with primary schools. So really it’s got to start, in my view, as young as possible. It rubs off on the younger ones, the older ones, it even rubs off on the parents too.

Q: What is it that you love about bumblebees in particular – a favourite species perhaps?

A: I don’t think that I do have a favourite, actually. I think they’re all absolutely wonderful! I think what’s so amazing is some of the photography in the Buzzword membership magazine is out of this world, such beautiful photographs. How the photographer has got the whole face shape and the eyes, it’s almost as if you can see the brain of these creatures with some of the photography now.

But no, as far as I’m concerned, they’re all equally special and important pollinators. I’ve kept all my back issues of Buzzword. The lowering of their numbers, how unfortunately some of the species is so low now, it’s terrible – but we can all do something to help.

Q: Lastly, what do you enjoy the most about being a Bumblebee Ambassador for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust?

A: I believe that we’ve got to really focus on the education of children, truthfully. Over the whole country we are all in need of educating people better. I can only approach local schools if I can have a connection with them. A school in Beckley was through a lady who taught me to use a computer. Her niece and nephew are in that school, so that made the connection for me. I was in hospital nearly all of last year, so I never used that connection yet, but I’ve still got it, it’s still there, and I’ve still got my pack of information. So that’s what I do, I pop in and meet with the Head Teacher and offer information.

The main thing I like to offer them is the Bumblebee Conservation Trust ID poster. I think that is ideal as young children see the shape of the bumblebee and they know what it is. They’re too young to really understand all the rest of the necessities of bumblebees really, but they’re big and bright and enticing enough images that I’m sure do click.

I’ve got my two great grandchildren and they were two of the first in this group that was set up. (They’re both in junior school now, so it was some years ago). But they were absolutely thrilled to see their picture Buzzword and pass it round and show their teacher. That’s what we want – as much of that as possible!

In my little flat, halfway down the stairs, I’ve got the Bumblebee Conservation Trust ID poster. Last week, I had a workman over to fix a blind. He said, “I’ve learned a lot today. I know all about bumblebees now!” He’d been up and down the stairs for tools and things so many times and had seen the poster. And that’s not the first time!

Several times I’ve had workmen over and they’re doing something. As they go down the stairs, they see the poster there – we need a lot more of that. People just notice it and it goes in a little bit, just one particular bumblebee species or a fact about them. It’s a drip, drip, drip situation. Especially, as far as children are concerned, if you can get them to care and understand. Be it bumblebees among other things of course, but bumblebees particularly at the moment because we desperately need them.

By Miranda Shephard, Information Officer

There are around one million known species of insect, and probably quite a few more waiting to be discovered and named! This week it’s time to celebrate them during National Insect Week 2023, so we thought we would take a closer look at our favourite type of insect – the bumblebee! And more specifically, the beautiful carder bumblebees.

Five out of our twenty-four UK bumblebee species are given the name carder bumblebee. This is due to the similarity between the carding process used by people to separate and arrange the fibres of materials, such as wool and cotton, and the way in which these bumblebees arrange nesting material over and around their nests. All five carder bumblebee species tend to nest above ground, among tussocky grass or other dry patches of long vegetation, where they use their legs and mandibles to comb and coax vegetation into a protective insulating layer.

Red-shanked carder bumblebee

The most distinctive carder bumblebee is the Red-shanked carder bumblebee (Bombus ruderarius) which, at first glance, could be mistaken for the more common Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius). However, the clue is in the name as the Red-shanked carder bumblebee does indeed have red hairs on its legs. They are also a bit fluffier and their red tail is more orange than red compared to the Red-tailed bumblebee. This carder bumblebee is quite rare but, if you’re in south and central England, Wales or the Inner Hebrides, it’s always worth keeping an eye out for red hairs on legs.

Shrill carder bumblebee

The carder bumblebee group includes one of our rarest bumblebees, the Shrill carder bumblebee (Bombus sylvarum). Named for its high-pitched buzz, this species is only found in five scattered populations across the south of England and Wales. Usually only seen from May to September, the key features to look out for are the black band between pale straw coloured hair on the thorax and a ginger orange tail at the end of more straw coloured hair on the abdomen.

Common carder bumblebee

Next up are three (one common and two rare) ginger brown carder bumblebees, which can sometimes be confused with each other. Let’s start with the one that many people will be most familiar with.

The Common carder bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum), as their name suggests, is one of our Big Eight common and widespread species. Often found in gardens and across the countryside, this ginger brown bumblebee can be seen from March all the way through to October in many areas. This is a variable species with both very pale blonde and much darker haired individuals. A key feature is the presence of black hairs which, even in the very palest individuals, will be present somewhere on the thorax or abdomen. Common carder bumblebees are also quite messy looking, with longer hair than the next two species.

Moss carder bumblebee

A much neater, sometimes described as velvety, and brighter ginger blonde carder bumblebee, the Moss carder bumblebee (Bombus muscorum) is a rare bumblebee. This carder bumblebee is mainly found in coastal areas in England and Wales but can be more widespread in Scotland. Usually seen between May and September, the Moss carder bumblebee is more likely to be spotted in flower-rich countryside than gardens. Unlike the Common carder bumblebee, this bumblebee never has black hairs on the thorax or abdomen. A beautiful and striking colour variation, with a deep gingery red thorax, can be found on some of the islands around the UK.

Brown-banded carder bumblebee

Last, but definitely not least, is the Brown-banded carder bumblebee (Bombus humilis). Another of our rare bumblebees, the Brown-banded carder bumblebee is confined to the south of England and Wales where it can be seen between May and September. A key feature of this species is the ginger brown band across the top of the abdomen which is a similar colour to the thorax. Look out for the pale blonde hair patches on the side of the thorax under the wing bases and black hairs around the wing bases.

Top tips for identifying carder bumblebees

These three species (Common carder, Brown-banded and Moss carder bumblebee) can be tricky to tell apart, especially when there are faded and worn individuals around at the end of the nesting season, so our top tips for spotting them are:

• Know which species might be present in your area by taking a look at our bumblebee species guide
• Learn how to safely catch and pot bumblebees for a closer look with a hand lens in our helpful video
• Practice, practice, practice! Enjoy looking out for bumblebees and spotting the differences between the species. Spring and early summer can be the best time to start identifying bumblebees before there are too many individuals around

National Insect Week is a celebration of all things insect and is organised by the Royal Entomological Society, and supported by partner organisations throughout the UK and Europe. You can find more information here.

Spring is here! With it comes the arrival of the “black bumblebee” – several bumblebees, cuckoo bumblebees and solitary bees that can look similar to one another and cause confusion to those spotting them. Annie Ives, Skills for Bees: Scotland Project Officer and Information Officer, tells us the differences and what to look out for.

What do you picture when you think of a bumblebee? Many people would say a large, furry insect with black and yellow stripes. But with twenty-four bumblebee species in the UK, the appearance of a bumblebee can vary hugely, particularly when it comes to colour.

Normally we identify bumblebees by first looking at their tail colour and banding. However, a few bumblebees can be entirely black. This makes them much harder to tell apart. Knowing a few helpful facts about the different black bumblebees, and the look-a-like Hairy-footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes), can help narrow down your options. So next time a black bee buzzes past, you won’t be fooled by its disguise! 

31 May 2022

Over the past year, Tilly Hopkins has worked with the Trust through the Government Kickstart Scheme. Tilly has had the opportunity to gain experience working in the environmental sector and learn from passionate and skilled staff. Read Tilly’s conservation journey from creating social media content to bumblebee identification in the field.

Buzzing to begin 

After losing my first role due to the pandemic in 2020, I was feeling quite lost about the next steps in my conservation career. Then the new government Kickstart Scheme came along and I was so excited to see the Bumblebee Conservation Trust was involved. After a successful interview with Trust CEO Gill Perkins and staff members Andy Benson (Senior Education Officer) and Lisa Scott (Digital and Operations Officer), I started as a Bumblebee Conservation Assistant in the Public Engagement team on the 6 May 2021 (my birthday!), with Barnaby Smith (Public Engagement Manager) as my bee-rilliant Line Manager. 

I had such a warm welcome to the organisation, alongside my fellow Kickstarter’s Sinead, Kamal and Sam. The first few weeks can be a daunting time in any role, especially after being on furlough and job searching for months beforehand, but everyone was so friendly and helpful. I remember receiving a wonderful welcome pack from Gill with a hand-written note, a pack of bee-friendly wildflower seeds which I swiftly planted (they looked stunning that summer!), a White-tailed bumblebee pin badge which has lived on my rucksack ever since, and of course plenty of Trust reading material. 

From desk to field 

In the first half of my placement, I was home based working for the Public Engagement team. It was a really enjoyable time as I settled into my role. I got to watch lots of bumblebee and wildflower identification videos, read lots of bumblebee books, familiarised myself with the Trusts social media style and website content, learnt about the Trust in general including their values, and built working relationships within the team with Helen King (Senior Communications Officer) and Chloe Headdon (Bee the Change Officer) who were incredibly supportive. One of the highlights during this time was getting the chance to be involved in the Trusts latest online campaign, ‘Bee the Change’. 

I was so excited to contribute to this brilliant project led by Chloe. The purpose being to inspire people from all backgrounds to help bumblebees thrive in their communities through simple actions that anyone can take. Whether you have a large garden or a small window box, being a part of this project opened my eyes to how all of us can help make a positive difference for these very important pollinators. I was given the opportunity to create a blog for the microsite, draft up multiple social media posts, and help to create free downloadable resources such as an autumn/winter garden maintenance guide and a children’s seed balls activity sheet.  

For the remaining months, I was lucky enough to work in the Conservation team as part of the ‘Short-haired bumblebee reintroduction project’ based in Kent, led by Dr Nikki Gammans (Project manager) and supported by her trainee Clare Alley. It was an amazing opportunity to experience practical conservation work in-person and meet the dedicated group of volunteers for this project, some of which have been volunteering for the Trust for over 10 years. It was also great to meet fellow staff members face to face, and to make lovely new friendships with both Nikki and Clare. 

I experienced so much variety during these months, from attending a Trust life members event, running merchandise stalls at talks, selling raffle tickets at the annual fundraising quiz, completing risk assessments for each site, arranging volunteer get-togethers, taking photos/videos for social media, attending bumblebee blitzes, carrying out BeeWalks, designing a series of seasonal churchyard signs, to habitat work parties (I’ve lost count of how many primroses and cowslips I’ve planted, but enjoyed every one!). I love driving around my local towns and villages and being able to point out to family and friends where I’ve sowed wildflower seeds, or planted seasonal forage for bumblebees. It’s even more of a thrill when you actually see a bumblebee enjoying your efforts! 

Fond farewell 

Like all good things my placement is now coming to an end, but it has been the most fantastic experience. I was even able to fit in attending the full team meeting held in Cheadle before leaving, which was the icing on top! I feel so lucky to have met such inspiring and motivational staff members and volunteers. Everyone is very passionate about helping bumblebee populations to flourish, and it’s not hard to understand why.  

Before I started with the Trust I was interested in the natural world, but bumblebees were a new subject to me and something I was keen to learn more about – and what a learning journey it’s been! Once you start to know a little about these charismatic insects, you can’t help but become hooked. They live truly fascinating lives and I encourage everyone to take a look on the Trusts website for a better idea of their lifecycle, and the invaluable ecosystem services they provide for free. 

It’s been a memorable adventure. Thank you so much Bumblebee Conservation Trust!