NatureSpot's bee expert Maggie Frankum asks all NatureSpotters to keep watch for winter-active bumblebees. More...

Over the last 15 years or so, entomologists and naturalists have noted winter activity of Bombus terrestris (the Buff-tailed Bumblebee). Workers have been seen foraging at a wide range of winter-flowering plants, and males have been reported flying in February. What is quite clear is that a small proportion of mated queens will establish nests in the Autumn, and these can exploit the increasing amount of forage resources available throughout the winter in our gardens, parks and amenity areas. One of the most useful things that can be done is to have a repeated series of observations in the same sites (once per fortnight in suitable conditions) so that the dynamics of winter-active populations can be established. Additional information we are particularly keen to have is as follows:

Where in Britain (or Ireland) does winter activity occur?
Are species other than Bombus terrestris involved?
Is winter activity purely an urban phenomenon?
Which species of plants are visited?
What is the nature of visitation - nectaring, pollen collecting or both?
Which caste or sex is involved in visitation?
What are the best weather conditions and temperature for activity?

Maggie has a Christmas Rose (Heleborus niger) in a pot in her Knighton garden and on the 1st December and 4th December, heard a distinct "buzzzz" and spotted a worker Bombus terrestris collecting pollen and packing it onto her back legs. Her daughter also spotted a worker Bombus terrestris in her garden near Saffron Lane, foraging dark blue Salvia Armistad. These sightings must indicate an active nest nearby. Bumble bees will forage even when the temperature is low, into the new year. How many bumble-friendly shrubs are still in flower in local VC55 gardens?

Please submit all your winter bee sightings to NatureSpot for the VC55 records, and also to the BWARS Winter bumblebees project: http://www.bwars.com/content/winter-active-bombus-terrestris-data-gathering