Who is living in your wild bee/bug hotel workshop?
Wild Bee Management Workshop for the Carbon Landscape Partnership George Pilkington from Nurturing Nature will teach us all about bee hygiene, why bug hotels are great for bugs but bee homes need their own space. George will teach us all about his specially designed...
How does a spider remove a leaf from its web?
How does a spider remove a leaf that's fallen onto its web? Spider's webs are difficult to see which is why they are successful in snaring an unsuspecting flying insect. Webs are made of strong flexible silk which is laced with sticky globules to catch living prey...
Bombus vestalis cuckoo bee visits active B. hypnorum nest. Why?
Bombus vestalis the lodging cuckoo bee Initially, the Nurturing Nature nest box was first occupied by a queen Bombus hortorum, in my garden. Little did I know that it was going to be the scene of several crimes, including theft, burglary, deception and possibly...
12 species of solitary bee in the Nurturing Nature Observation Nest Box
Solitary bees and solitary wasps using the nest box Some bees will use the nest box to rest during the day, sleep overnight, find shelter or nest, as have several species of solitary wasp. 2018 saw an increase in solitary bees and wasps using it. If you have a new...
Solitary wasps using the Nurturing Nature Observation Nest box
Solitary bees and solitary wasps in the same nest box? Yes! In the same nest box! Besides being pollinators solitary wasps are fascinating to watch as they store the cavities with paralysed prey items, many of which may be garden pests. The prey items are used by the...
Bee Hotels, Hygiene and Maintenance Workshop Cumbria Wildlife Trust
Bee Hotels, Hygiene and Maintenance 29/8/18 Cumbria Wildlife Trust George Pilkington from Nurturing Nature will teach us all about bee hygiene, why bug hotels are great for bugs but bee homes need their own space. George will teach us all about his specially designed...
11 bee species using Nurturing Nature Solitary Bee Observation Nest box
This is not a bee hotel! It is a solitary bee nest box with observation windows! As seen recently on Springwatch 2018 In the film you will see, besides 11 different solitary bee species, including a Coelioxys cuckoo bee and not often seen or filmed, its larva with egg...
Long slender black and yellow male Ichneumon wasp? searching willow leaves
Long colourful possible male Ichneumon wasp foraging amongst willow leaves I have a long backlog of material and films to put onto my website and I like to do a little research before I publish them. Plus I keep filming all sorts of garden wildlife to add to the list...
What birds killed 29 Bombus terrestris queens?
Was it a Great tit that killed 29 Bombus terrestris queens? Recently, while walking along a footpath through a small birch woodland, I saw and filmed a B. terrestris queen digging a hole into the peaty earth, something I have seen several times now and indicative of...
Ancistrocerus gazella solitary wasp larvae inside nesting cavity
Ancistrocerus gazella, a new wasp to my summer bee solitary wasp nesting unit This mason wasp is also known as the European Tube Wasp. According to Wikipedia, the female collects as many as 20 caterpillars in each nest. Looking at the size of the cells, how on earth...