Winter active Bumblebees at the National Wildflower Centre, Liverpool

Winter active Bumblebees at the National Wildflower Centre, Liverpool

Winter, Mahonia and bumblebees seem to go together! I have heard many reports of Bumblebees working on Mahonia down south.  This is my very first sighting of them so early in the year here. There were two sections of mahonia, separated by several other bushes and...
Queen Tree Bumblebee cleans my nails video

Queen Tree Bumblebee cleans my nails video

Queen Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) cleaning my nails! This particular garden nest was a roaring success as regards producing queen bumblebees. I saw this one actually fly from the nest and then fall to the floor and start crawling. Her wings looked fine and she...
Converting a boring lawn to a wildflower meadow! pt 1 video

Converting a boring lawn to a wildflower meadow! pt 1 video

Do you enjoy mowing your lawn?  Yes I know we have lost around 97% of our flower-rich meadows and in the whole scheme of things, my tiny lawn will not make much difference to that loss. However, it makes a significant difference to me, the interest and pure pleasure I...
Wasp attacks honeybee mid air, kills it and flies off with it  video

Wasp attacks honeybee mid air, kills it and flies off with it video

Aerial wasp attack on flying honey bee I have watched many wasps killing prey, whether they were flies, caterpillars or honeybees. However they have all been caught when the prey item was stationary on a flower or other stationary platform. This was my first encounter...
Queen bumblebee awake on wet windy November day 2015 video

Queen bumblebee awake on wet windy November day 2015 video

Queen bumblebees hibernate don’t they? By rights she should be hibernating. This was a Queen Bombus terrestris however, in some areas of the country, probably due to climate change, these plucky bumblebees have been active particularly in southern  areas and...