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Bumble Bee - April - Haworth |
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There are 18 species of Bumble Bee in Britain, the photo is of a White-tailed bumble bee (Bombus lucorum) which has two yellow bands and a white tail.
They are similar in behaviour to Honey Bees: They pollinate flowers, can sting and have the same social grouping of workers, drones and queen.
Where they differ is they have smaller colonies of about 150 whereas Honey Bees can number 50,000. They do not make enough honey to survive winter and in autumn the first cold weather, the workers, drones and old queen die. The fertilized young queens hibernate coming out in the spring.
Length 23-24mm
First Bumble Bee seen at Haworth: 2rd April 2005 4th April 2008 7th April 2010 |
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