Queen social wasp chewing shed for nesting material!

Queen social wasp chewing shed for nesting material!

Social wasps are predators not shed demolishers! video All social wasps feed their young by chewing up soft bodied insects. I watched in amazement one day as such a wasp, decapitated then de-winged a horsefly and flew off with it!  Now horseflies hurt when they...
Rusty the Red mason bee and his quest for love!! video

Rusty the Red mason bee and his quest for love!! video

The trials and tribulations of Rusty, a male Red mason bee looking for a mate (1) Rusty, a male Red mason bee (Osmia bicornis) has a fast and furious life looking for a suitable mate in his short life. Competition is fierce. In the wild, the females can be very widely...
Queen tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) takes blue tit nest box video

Queen tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) takes blue tit nest box video

Queen tree bumblebees rarely miss an opportunity to use a bird nest box! I had earlier in the year, prepped the blue tit nest box with nesting materials for the blue tits. However, the female blue tit definitely did not like my choice of materials! She wanted her own...
Queen Bombus hortorum foraging on wild primroses video

Queen Bombus hortorum foraging on wild primroses video

Probably Bombus hortorum, the Garden Bumblebee, feeding on primroses This is a longue tongued bumblebee which she would need to collect the nectar deep within the primroses. Its long narrow head helps with this task. Not all bumblebees, frustratingly for them!, can...

Tree bumblebee gives warning signs when feeling threatened-video

I don’t really want to sting you…..read the signs! Bumblebees are really docile creatures which display ‘back off’ warning signs if they feel threatened. Learning these could be useful, especially if you want to photograph or film them. It is...