30th March 2022

Posted on March 30, 2022 by pennyphilcox

Buff-tailed Bumblebee- This is the biggest of the early Queen Bumblebees you will see out in the garden, and in warm areas like cities in the south they are recorded as being around in winter, feeding on valuable food-sources like Mahonia, Winter-flowering Honeysuckle etc. The queen is the only easy one to identify so this is the time to get to know them, as the later workers and males are easily confused with species like the White-tailed Bumblebee. Even with Queen Buff-tails the tail can be quite pale. They have a golden-yellow band on their heads (thorax) and half way down their abdomen which helps. (see photos). And they are out very early in spring, if temperatures rise to 10C. They love feeding from all flowers but, like many insects, feed especially from open, flat single flowers so it is important to have many of these thought the year in your garden The Buff-tailed Bumblebee is sometimes called the ‘Nectar-robber’ since, like some Tits can be seen doing, if the tube of a flower is too deep for them to reach into they will bite a hole near its base and access the energy-rich nectar ‘by the back door’. Conditions: Worryingly for much wildlife and many plants, the over-warm week last week is now followed by a week of cold, sleety conditions. Temperature: Max 5 Min 0C.

27th March 2022

Posted on March 27, 2022 by pennyphilcox

RED-TAILED BUMBLEBEE: Another early Bee that is very common and easy to identify is the Red-tailed Bumblebee. As with all Bumblebees, only the Queen survives winter and being large, you should see her out feeding up on a range of flowers or searching for nest-sites. They may use old burrows and holes, or nest in walls and under stones. A social bee, she will lay a few eggs early on and they emerge as workers, supporting later broods. The males are born later, to mate with the Queen. She has a long, black body and red-orange end to her abdomen. and so really shows up at the time of year. Though red-tailed bumblebees will feed right through until autumn, later ones may be a little harder to identify as they are smaller and the males have yellow facial hair and bands as well as a red ‘tail’. Conditions: Cooler but dry. Temperature: Max

24th March 2022

Posted on March 24, 2022 by pennyphilcox

Tree Bumblebees- It’s a great time of year to learn or remind ourselves of some of the common Bumblebees because there are fewer species around this early, some of which are very easy to identify. What is more, because only Queen Bumblebees survive to overwinter, and Queens are bigger, the Bumblebees we see are so visible. Tree Bumblebees have only been seen in the UK since 2001 but are spreading fast. We have lots each year in our Sheffield garden. They nest in holes in trees, but also in the eaves of houses, compost heaps and sometimes will even turf Tits out of nest-boxes. So Queen Tree Bumblebees will be out and about now, feeding up on nectar and pollen, especially favouring downward hanging flowers, and seeking out new nesting sites. Tree Bumlebees are a good place to start as, unlike some other species, the Queens, males and females all have the same, distinctive pattern of marking- a foxy-coloured head, black body and pale white-grey lower abdomen- see the photos. Learning one at a time works for most of nature so wh not look out for Tree Bumblebees first. More to follow. Conditions: A very dry, warm spell of sunny weather, unseasonably warm. Tempera

10th March 2022

Posted on March 10, 2022 by pennyphilcox

Long tailed Tits Nesting: It’s that time of year again when Long Tailed Tits are busy collecting for their beautiful nests. Their spherical nests are made from spiders webs and lichen, arranged so that, as the baby tits grow in the small, exquisite nest, the spiders webs, which hook together like velcro, expand to allow the growing babies (often around 10) to be accommodated. This is not the only remarkable thing about Long Tailed Tits nests. The other is that the nests have to be lined with at least 1,500 small, downy feathers, which they scour their locality for. I always help them along their way by putting out downy feathers, usually from an old pillow case, in a holder that allows the adults to access and remove them. This helps the Long Tailed Tits in their massive task but also gives fascinating close views of these delightful birds. Nests are hidden in low, dense thickets and very hard to find or photograph so here is a drawing I did to give an idea of their beautiful; form. Conditions: A mostly dry, quiet spell of weather after a cold spell. Temperature: Max 13 Min 8C.