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Bumblebee queen sleeping on Kilmarnock willow catkins overnight

I often recommend Kilmarnock willow when talking or teaching about bees. It is a great spring resource for foraging bumblebee queens who need to feed up after hibernation and to ripen their ovaries prior to starting their colonies. It is also used by early emerging mining solitary bees as well as blue tits that eat the pollen. There are not that many flowers out at this time of the year and Kilmarnock willow is a compact, easily managed bumblebee bed and breakfast, snack bar for solitary bees and blue tits!

This queen (poss B.terrestris), I saw about 4pm on a sunny but chilly day and was filmed just after 10pm the same evening in the same position when it was even colder!