Finally, after a long, cold winter the spring and warmer weather finally encouraged our bumblebee species to emerge to start the search for this years nesting sites.
Having done a couple of bee walks already and seen mostly Buff Tailed, bombus terrestris as they are usually first to emerge. I had seen one Queen Common Carder, bombus pascuorum at Carlton Marshes.
I finally saw my first Red Tailed Bumblebee, bombus lapidarius which looked as if it had been collecting pollen, hopefully for the feeding of the first female worker bees.
As the days pass now, there will be more and more Queen bumblebees on the wing so keep your eyes peeled!
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| Red Tailed Bumblebee taking a rest |
