Thanks to Nigel, I have entered the B terrestris onto the BWARS recording scheme. Unknown to me there is a specific winter Bumblebee recording scheme that other folk may want to use. The link is : http://www.bwars.com/index.php?q=content/submit-sighting-winter-bumblebee. It doesn't take long to fill in!
Well they are still about in suitable conditions as I had a queen B. terrestris fly through the garden at lunch-time last Tuesday, 7/1, with an obvious buff-tail and considerable size, but it was not about for long, although it was flying well direction wise in blustery conditions.
ReplyDeleteFar more extraordinarily I had a smallish Tree Bumblebee B. hypnorum come and investigate a colourful Hamleys toyshop carrier bag I was using to collect clippings from a friend's lavender hedge I was pruning in Broadlands, Bridgend.
One could endlessly speculate what it was doing. Was it an odd worker that had survived this far from last year? Was it a seriously undersized queen? Was it from an over-wintering nest?
Was it a worker from a "new" nest which must have been founded in Nov/Dec considering how mild if stormy this winter period has been so far.
Heaven only knows, but I have put the record on the BWARS Tree Bumblebee survey
http://www.bwars.com/index.php?q=content/bombus-hypnorum-mapping-project and will be interested and will report any reaction they make to this record.
I forgot to add that this Tree bumblebee sighting was yesterday lunchtime, 11th January. N
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