more on Bumblebees

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~ As I have asked for help to vote for funding for a Bumblebee project in west Wales I thought I would give some info~ this is from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust of which I am a member.
Vote at ~
www.livefortheoutdoors.com/…/Choose-the-most-worthy-eco-project-Entry-two—-Bumblebee-Conservation-Trust/

About bumblebees

Bumblebees are among the most endearing and familiar of our insects. The sight and sound of bees droning methodically from flower to flower is a quintessential part of a summer’s day. Sadly, changes to the farmed countryside have not been kind to our bumblebees. The number of species found in most of lowland Britain has halved since 1950. Within the last 70 years two bumblebee species have become nationally extinct and others have experienced major declines. Further extinctions may follow in the near future unless we act quickly. The reason that bumblebees have declined in the countryside is simple. Bees feed exclusively on pollen and nectar, and there are far fewer flowers in the countryside than there once were. Hedges have been grubbed up and marshes drained. In particular, unimproved grasslands which are rich in wildflowers (haymeadows and chalk downland) have been almost entirely swept away, replaced by silage and cereal fields.

Gardens now provide a valuable flower-rich refuge in an impoverished landscape, and as a result have become a stronghold for some bumblebee species. Depending on where you live, and what flowers you grow, you may see up to a dozen bumblebee species in your garden. Even a casual inspection of flowers in a garden or park will reveal several very differently coloured bumblebees. In fact six or seven species can be found in almost any reasonable-sized garden, and if the right sorts of plants are grown this total can be doubled.

The Bumblebee Lifecycle

Bumblebees, honeybees, wasps and ants are all social insects: they live in a colony with a queen and her daughters (the workers). Bumblebees have an annual lifecycle, with new nests being started each spring by queens. The queen bumblebees are very large, and from February onwards can be seen feeding on flowers such as willow catkins, bluebells and lungwort, or flying low over the ground searching for a nest site. Some species prefer to nest underground in abandoned burrows of rodents, while others nest just above the ground in dense grass or leaf-litter. The queen stocks her nest with pollen and nectar, and lays her first batch of eggs. She incubates them much as a bird would, sitting on the eggs while shivering her flight muscles to produce warmth. When the eggs hatch the legless grubs consume pollen and nectar, grow rapidly, and pupate after a few weeks. A few days later the first workers hatch from their pupae and begin helping their mother, expanding the nest and gathering food. By mid-summer nests of some species can contain several hundred workers. At this point the queen starts laying both male and female eggs. The females are fed extra food and become future queens. Both males and new queens leave the nest to mate, and the new queens burrow into the ground to wait until the following spring. The males, workers, and the old queen die off in the autumn, leaving the nest to decay.

Cuckoo Bumblebees

In the UK there are 6 species of cuckoo bumblebees. These were once themselves like other bumblebees, but they have switched to a parasitic existence. The females are especially powerful, and force their way into the nests of their bumblebee hosts. They kill or evict the queen and take over her workers as their own, using them to rear their own offspring. Cuckoo bumblebees do not produce workers of their own. Each cuckoo species tends to attack a particular species of bumblebee, so for example the southern cuckoo bumblebee targets buff-tailed bumblebee nests.
Fascinating facts about bumblebees

Want to know more? There are so many fascinating facts about bumblebees – far too much to fit on the website. Did you know that bumblebees have smelly feet? Are bumblebees left-handed or right-handed? Why do inbred bumblebees turn male? Why do workers turn on their mother and murder her? Where do bumblebees mate? How far can a bumblebee fly? Join the Trust today and learn more about these fascinating creatures…

~ a bit more on The BBCT~

Our aims

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust was founded in response to growing concerns about the ‘plight of the bumblebee’. In the last 70 years two species have become nationally extinct and several others have experienced dramatic declines. We aim to prevent further declines, and to raise awareness of the problems bumblebees face. We now have over 6,000 members ranging from enthusiastic and concerned amateurs right through to internationally renowned research scientists. All of us share a common affection for these affable insects and a desire to see them conserved for future generations. Join us today!

Our activities are co-ordinated from offices at the University of Stirling.

Our newsletter
Includes help with identifying bees, tips on attracting them to your garden, and sites to see some of the rarer species

Conservation

• Working with politicians, statutory agencies and other NGO’s championing the cause of bumblebees and developing sustainable agricultural policies
• Promoting wildlife-friendly gardening throughout the UK
• Encouraging farmers to enter into agri-envionrment schemes and allow wildlife back onto farms
• Improving habitats and land management in sensitive areas to protect threatened species
• Campaigning against developments that threaten important habitats
• Highlighting the potentially harmful use of non-native bees for pollination and campaigning for better safeguards
• Advising landowners and reserve wardens on conservation issues
• Participating in and funding high-quality scientific research to underpin our conservation policies
• Engaging with the UK Biodiversity Action Plan process, and driving forward with action to benefit biodiversity
• Providing expert advice on all aspects of bumblebee ecology and conservation
• Establishing both distribution and relative abundance surveys which reach out to a wide audience

Education

• Running events and training days so that people can learn more about bumblebees and how to help them
• Our bumblebee education pack has been well received by over 100 Scottish schools – we hope to soon secure funding to produce educational materials for the whole of the UK
• Our newsletter is full of interesting facts and information and reaches a growing membership over over 6,000
• Giving talks and running events for interested groups and schools
• Maintaining an interactive website which provide information on everything from bumblebee declines, and how you can help through to gardening and providing nest sites for bumblebees and much more – we hope you enjoy your visit

Please join today and help to make things change…

• 29 Jan, 2010
• 10 likes

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