Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

16 AMATEURGARDENING 24 AUGUST 2019

B

UMBLEBEESarea delightto

watchastheybrowsefrom

flowertoflower.Theyarethe

onlybeescapableof buzz

pollinatingandit’sa verysatisfyingnoise

tolistento.Mostgardenswillattractfive

orsixspecies,butthey’re not always

easytoidentify.

I begantryingtoidentifybumblebees

in the1980s,havinglistenedtoa radio

programmeaboutthedeclineof red-

tailedbumblebees(Bombuslapidarius).

It wassuggestedthatlistenerschase

thesebeestofindoutwheretheywere

nesting,buttheywerefartoofastforme.

Theotherproblemwassize.I looked

themupandwasexpectingtosee

largishbumblebees.Atthebeginning

of theyeartheemergingqueensare

verylarge.However,theearliest

emergingbumblebeesfromanynew

nestareusuallyverysmall.Asthe

colonygetslargerandmore successful,

thebeesgetlarger.

Theotherproblemis theymovetoo

fast,soI wasdelightedto seethatmy

largerfloweredpelargoniumswerebeing

visitedbytheearlybumblebee(Bombus

pratorum). Manyof thepotsarecloseto

seats,soI hada greatview.Thepicture

above,takenin June,showsa new

queen.Theyhaveshort,almostpug-like

facesandthere’sa thickyellowbandat

thetopof theabdomenwitha reddish-

orange rump. They’re short-tongued and

Valis delightedwhenshefindsonetheUK’ssmallest

bumblebees, the early bumblebee,visitinghergarden

prefersimplyshapedflowers,although

theydobiteintohoneysuckleand

comfreyflowersin orderto robthenectar.

Theearlybumblebeeappearsfrom

Marchonwards,althoughyoucanstill

seethemin Septemberandearly

October.Springfavouritesinclude

dandelionsanddeadnettles(Lamium).

Theyalsolovebramblesandwehave

twocultivatedblackberriesontheside

of ourshed,a ‘KarakaBlack’and‘Loch

Ness’.Wehavetonetthesetoprevent

theblackbirdsandthrushesfrom

strippingthefruit.Earlybumblebees

alsoenjoyfeedingonscabiousand

muskmallow(Malvamoschata).

A lotof bumblebeesarehairy,

andthisfurrycoatallowsthemtofly

in coolertemperatures.Theycan’t

removetheirfurcoats,sotheyhated

theblisteringsummerof 2018andour

bumblebeeswerealmostabsentin

thegardenlastJuly.Thankfully,they

returnedbymid-Augustwhen

temperaturesfellandrainreturned

• justin timeforourfamilyholiday!
  Theearlybumblebeeis commonin
  townsandcities,becauseit oftenbuilds
  nestsin derelictandbrownfieldsites.
  I usedtodismissthesescruffyareas
  andimaginedthatthebestthingtodo
  wouldbetobuildonthem.However,
  nothingcouldbefurtherfromthetruth.
  RecentStateof Naturereportssay
  that these “abandoned areas often

TIP

Earlyflyingbumblebees

lovea crocus.‘Vanguard’

(picturedabove)is myfavourite,

andthesilver-greyandpurple

flowersappeartwoweeksearlier

than most larger flowered crocus.

provideda much-neededrefugefor

mportantwildlife.Greatcrestednewts,

slowworms,commonlizardsandblack

redstartsallmaketheirhomein the

mosaicof differenthabitatsfoundthere.

Around15%of nationallyrareandscarce

invertebrateshavebeenfoundon

brownfieldsites,including50%of rare

solitarybeesandwasps, and 35% of

rarecarabidbeetles.

“Brownfieldsitescanalsosupport

a rangeof importantfloweringplants,

mossesandlichens...Studiesin the

Midlandssuggestthatthebestbrownfield

sitesevenmatchancientwoodlandsin

termsof thenumberof species, especially

rareones,foundthere.”

Thekeyis thattheyareundisturbed,

andthatallowsnaturetoreturn.Old

railwaylines,quarriesanddisused

factories are prime sites.

“Earlybumblebees

arecommonin

Youcanseeearlybumblebees towns and cities”

from March until early October

Gardening We ek

with Val Bourne, AG’s organic wildlife expert

All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited

Val Bourne

Abandonedareasoftenprovidea much-

needed refuge for important wildlife

Anearlybumblebeequeen

wasattractedtothe

pelargoniums in Val’s garden

Earlybumblebees

lovefeedingon

the musk mallow

Val Bourne