May 29, 2016
Effectively castrated by the nematode Sphaerularia bombi, these queen bumblebees cannot nest The queen becomes a surrogate mother for the nematode worms When hibernating in the soil, the fertilised female nematode, Sphaerularia bombi, which only infects bumblebee...
Apr 12, 2016
Flint and District Beekeepers Presentation I enjoy giving presentations to honeybee keepers. Many of them are keen ‘experts’ in honeybees and very knowledgeable about them. Its rather nice when they ask me to tell them about garden bumblebees or solitary...
Mar 28, 2016
Help the Soil Association to achieve a total ban of neonicotinoids. The new DDT? Something unthinkable is happening. Neonicotinoids are still contaminating our countryside, and poisoning our wildlife. A new study from Sussex University, part-funded by the Soil...
Mar 26, 2016
Predatory bird kills bumblebee queen After months of hibernating the bumblebee queen eagerly sets out to feed up and start her colony. It’s her life’s quest. Likewise, a predatory bird, probably a Great tit or even a robin, itself getting into breeding...
Mar 20, 2016
Spot the queen bumblebee resting in my wildflower meadow Lovely sunny weather today, had a very large B. terrestris queen earlier in the day feeding and resting. Later in the afternoon, found this one resting in my new wildflower lawn, part of my wildlife garden....
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