Useful links:

Do bumbles hibernate?
The young queens born from the previous year’s life cycle hibernate over the winter months, usually in small holes in soft ground, which ideally face North, thus avoiding the rising winter sun over the cooler months and the threat of premature awakening. At the end of each year the old queen will die.

Where do they live?
When the queen finally leaves her winter home, the first task is to source an ideal site for a nest as, unlike honeybees, bumbles don’t live in hives. Hedgerows and similar sheltered areas are favourites among some bees (underground nesters), as are sites that have an abundance of mouse urine, which proves particularly appealing to the bee. Others prefer dense patches of grass or accumulated leaf litter (surface nesters).

Once a nest has been found, and she has collected some pollen and built up her energy and some food supplies, the queen will lay her first eggs, which hatch to become the first generation of workers, and are all female. Their job is to leave the nest, and to collect more pollen and nectar to feed the next round of eggs. Bees do this by placing the pollen into small baskets on their legs. Next to hatch are the second generation of workers, who tend to be larger than the first due to the abundance of food provided by the first workers.

Once sufficient workers have been laid and hatched, the subsequent eggs laid will turn either into males or young queens, the difference between these being simple. The males are unfertilised eggs, the females are fertilised.

What role do they each perform?
The queen’s sole purpose is to ensure the continued survival of the nest, although she herself will die off at the end of the year. The workers are dedicated to helping the queen at all times by either collecting nectar and pollen, or helping in nest construction. The males only job is to mate with the new queens that are hatched, and make sure they are impregnated with enough sperm to lay the larvae the following year, and when they leave the nest, they rarely return to it. They don’t collect pollen as they don’t have the small pollen baskets that the female workers do, and they also die off at the end of the year. Once the young queens have mated, they will leave the nest and search for an ideal resting site to sit out the winter, and it all begins again the following year.

Are bumbles susceptible to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)?
No – this disease is confined to the honeybee. However there are many problems with the Bumblebee’s current population levels. Both their habitat is under threat from the intensification of fields and the loss of indigenous hedgerows, and the loss of a reliable source of food. The intense use of chemicals and the subsequent monoculture of plants have seen the decline of natural foods available like clover.

What’s the bumbles role in pollination?
Pollination involves the transfer of pollen grains, the male spores, to the female part of the plant, the stigma. Bumbles are general pollinators and the grain sticks to their furry bodies as they visit from plant to plant in their search for their food. They can be run as commercial pollinators, although on a much smaller scale than honeybees.


Do they sting, and then die?
Bumbles very rarely sting. Only the female bee can sting, and usually only if they get very stressed. Stinging isn’t fatal to the bee.


Which are the most common types in Britain?
There are six, more frequently seen bumbles common to the UK, all of which have slightly different lifestyles and requirements, but all of which can be seen in and around the garden during the year. It is important to note that the males and workers of the bumbles look very different to the queens (shown below). Links to further research and pictures can be found at the bottom of this page.

Bee Friendly Plants
There are many plants that are excellent to encourage bumbles, and other insects into your garden such as Foxgloves, Comfrey, Honeysuckle, Clover, Sages, Marjoram, Rosemary, Lavender, Geraniums, Buddleia and Sweet Peas. A quick search at both the links listed below will help with that, or if you’re confused about the choice, you could always just buy and sow a packet of wild flower seeds.


References
O’Toole Christopher, Bumblebees, Osmia Publications, UK 2003


Useful links
www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk
www.bumblebee.org
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/BeeResearch

Further Reading
Field Guide to the Bumblebees of Great Britain and Ireland, Mike Edwards and Martin Jenner (Ocelli - ISBN 0-9549713-0-2)

Bee, Claire Preston (Reaktion Books Ltd, London - ISBN 1-86189 256 X)