|
|
|
 Sent
to you
by e-mail
|
|
Simply
enter your details and hit the send button
more
info |
|
Click Here
Links
Advertise
Terms of Use
Contributors
About Us
Contact Us
|
 |
Go back
| Bookmark
| Print Page 
| E-Mail Us 
Bumble Bees Have a Drink Problem!
____________________________________________________
Posted: 15th February
2008
Photo: G. Bradley |
Impress your friends this month with your incredible powers of observation.
Simply point to any bumble bee you see and say "oh look, a female bumble bee". Your friends will no doubt wonder how you are able to identify the gender of such a tiny creature from a distance, and will probably conclude that you are gifted with super-human eyesight.
The truth is that all bumble bees flying this month are females. All the males died off last year when the cold weather set in. The females hibernate through the winter, carrying the eggs for the next
generation. They've just woken up, and are busy looking for good nest sites.
Like much of our wildlife in recent years bumble bees have suffered from changes in the countryside. Most of our wild flower meadows which provided food for the bees have all gone.
Of the twenty five species in Britain only six are still common. Most are rare or on the brink of extinction. The problem, sadly, is drink related.
One of the main differences between Bumble bee species is the shape of the mouthparts. Some have long tongues and some have short tongues. It's the long tongued bees which are most at risk, as they need to drink from deep, tubular flowers, like red clover, which are now scarce. They find it difficult to drink from open flowers. It's a bit like trying to drink soup from a shallow bowl using an ice cream sundae
spoon - very awkward.
This months newly-active bumblebee queens are looking for concealed, dry
nesting holes to lay their eggs and brood. One way you can help them, and encourage them to stay in your garden, is to provide a
special nesting box - details in the 'Free Factsheet' section of the Members
Area.
Related Links:
UK Safari Bumble Bee Pages
UK Safari Creepy-crawlies Section
UK Safari News
|
|
Identification
Charts
Bumblebees
Garden Birds
Mammals
Mammal Tracks
Butterflies
Amphibians
Spiders
more here >
|
