The Queens are Coming
February 26, 2015
February is the usual start to the bumblebee season. The first bumbles to be seen are young queens that were born towards the end of last year’s season, between May and September. Following birth these new youngsters will have quickly mated with a male, then fattened themselves up with surplus nectar and pollen and finally dug a small hole in which to hibernate over winter.
Living off their stored body fat they hibernate for up to nine months, awakening when they sense that the temperature is rising as spring arrives. They emerge from their hibernation site weak and thin, so the first thing they do is forage for their own nectar and pollen. The nectar gives them energy and strength and the pollen builds up their body mass and matures their ovaries, so that they quickly become fully-grown adult queens. They will then build a nest where they can start to develop a new colony. You often see queen bees flying around close to the ground, searching for a suitable nest site.
There are eight common species of bumblebee in the South of England. Most of them emerge from hibernation in March, but there are two that emerge in February, the Buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris and the White-tailed bumblebee B. lucorum. A common one in March is the Red-tailed bumblebee B. lapidarius. They are easily identified by the colour of their tail, so focus on this when you see them. Queens are much larger than female workers and males – similar size to a gooseberry – which makes them quite distinctive.
The nectar and pollen essential for bumblebee survival is obtained from flowers, so a queen’s emergence from hibernation needs to coincide with early spring blooms. The first trees and shrubs to flower include cherry, willow, hawthorn and blackthorn. Traditional native flowers have more nectar and pollen than cultivates, so spring garden varieties like bluebell, bugle, comfrey, mahonia and pieris will attract the queens.
Bumblebees gather nectar using their tongues but not all tongues are the same length. The various species are usually divided into two categories for simplicity – long-tongued and short-tongued. Bumbles do not feed on every flower just because it contains nectar and pollen. They tend to restrict themselves to flowers that match their tongue lengths. Spring flowers that are tubular, like comfrey and pieris, will be visited by long-tongued bumbles whereas shallow, open-faced flowers like hawthorn and blackthorn will attract the short-tongued species.
See if you can recognise some differences in the bumblebee species by looking closely at the colours of their bodies. More enjoyment can be gained by learning how to identify the common species and there is a wealth of information on the website of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT) to get you started. Even better is to attend a free guided talk-and-walk – ask the BBCT for details of any in your locality.