Between around April/May and September, you can see busy worker bumblebees collecting nectar and pollen to take back to the nest. All these workers are females. Later in the year, usually in the summer, when the worker numbers are at their peak, the queen lays eggs that will become the males and new queens. The new queens receive extra food so they grow into bigger and stronger bees. When they are fully grown, the new queens and males leave the nest to find mates. The males sit around drinking nectar from flowers or fly around scent marking their territory to lure a queen to mate with.  They do not collect pollen or take any food back to the nest to share, they just fend for themselves. All the males, workers and old queens die off in autumn.  Only the new queens are left; they overwinter in a burrow in the ground and wait for the spring and the whole cycle starts again.

There are six common species that can be found in Glasgow parks and gardens.  They rely on suitable flowers being available from spring through until autumn to survive until the next year. 

Have a closer look at some bumblebees when you’re out and about, they are fascinating creatures.  See how many different kinds you can see. They are easiest to watch on big flowers like Foxglove, Comfrey and Himalayan balsam, where they will stay still for a while gathering food.  Look at the colour of the bees themselves, do they have stripes? What colours are they? You may be able to see colourful pollen balls on the hind legs of queens and workers. They carry the pollen here, by packing into rings of hairs called the “pollen basket”. The pollen varies in colour depending on which plant they have visited.  Male bumblebees are often more yellow than their female counterparts and some species have a yellow face, they never carry pollen as they don’t have baskets.

At this time of year keep a look out for newly emerged males and queens, although new queens of some species, like the Early Bumblebee are already hibernating!

Did you know that male bees cannot sting? And whilst female bumblebees can sting, it is rare; it only tends to happen when someone steps on them in the grass or interferes with their nest.

                  Worker Red-tailed Bumblebee          Male Red-tailed Bumblebee

Female queen bees have the same markings as the workers, which are their daughters, but are much larger.

Males are in between the size of workers and queens, and can ahve different markings. They have longer antennae.

For more information visit the website of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk