I am not a great fan of Bumble Bee Nestboxes on the whole. Bird Nestboxes seem to be occupied fairly regularly - even if sloppily put together like our Barn Owl box! But Bumble Bee nestboxes, well...
They seem a great idea, but never used.
However, earlier this spring there was a queen Bombus hortorum in our box. This was promising, but I still remained unconvinced. At the weekend I had a quick look inside and about four Bombus hortorum workers crept out to defend the nest. So it looks like they are using the box!
I will have to wait and see how effective the nest is, but it does make a difference from the usual earwigs, millipedes and spiders that are in there.
Showing posts with label bees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bees. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Warm Bank Holiday Sunday
Today was a nice warm sunny 1st May. Spent some of the day clearing Alexanders - we have rather a lot of this. I blame the neighbouring arable fields and all the sprays the farmers put on them!
We also moved the cows to a new field. It was nice to see how the botany of these fields has diversified since we got the cows.
The hedges are also looking good and Wilkins Wood starts to look like a wood! Also nice to see some of the wildflowers we have planted becoming more established and coming up for successive years!
Some of our House Martins are back and quite a few Swallows around, so it almost felt springlike. This year we seem to have 2 singing Blackcaps and a singing Chiffchaff, so hopefully we are doing something right.
Increasing numbers of Bumble Bees - hopefully they will pollinate the orchard. Also a few solitary bees including Andrena bicolor, Anthrophora plumipes (including a splendid male demonstrating the 'hairy feet' - see Peregrine Productions plate HYM6 Solitary Bees for a picture).
Several butterflies flying - Peacocks, Speckled Wood, Large White, Small Tortoiseshell.
We are keeping a close eye on the Barn Owl nest-box. A female Barn Owl flew out of it the other evening. Though I am not too optimistic, as the Stock Doves still seem to be using it.
We also moved the cows to a new field. It was nice to see how the botany of these fields has diversified since we got the cows.
The hedges are also looking good and Wilkins Wood starts to look like a wood! Also nice to see some of the wildflowers we have planted becoming more established and coming up for successive years!
Some of our House Martins are back and quite a few Swallows around, so it almost felt springlike. This year we seem to have 2 singing Blackcaps and a singing Chiffchaff, so hopefully we are doing something right.
Increasing numbers of Bumble Bees - hopefully they will pollinate the orchard. Also a few solitary bees including Andrena bicolor, Anthrophora plumipes (including a splendid male demonstrating the 'hairy feet' - see Peregrine Productions plate HYM6 Solitary Bees for a picture).
Several butterflies flying - Peacocks, Speckled Wood, Large White, Small Tortoiseshell.
A Peacock, Inachis io.
In the pond, there were a few Whirligigs.Also plenty of Smooth Newts courting and mating - nice to see through the clear water.We are keeping a close eye on the Barn Owl nest-box. A female Barn Owl flew out of it the other evening. Though I am not too optimistic, as the Stock Doves still seem to be using it.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Rumblings of Spring
It has been a while since the last post, so I thought I should put something down!
Spring finally seems to be trying to burst through. This means that Bumble Bees and Butterflies are finally around. We visited my parents in Kent and saw a few Butterflies including a Clouded Yellow at Samphire Hoe, Folkestone. This seemed early to me. The picture of the Clouded Yellow shown here was taken on holiday in Corsica some years ago.
Over the last few days, Beeflies and Anthophora Flower Bees have also been around.
Monday, 24 March 2008
Easter snow
It's been a while since I posted anything on the blog.
Work has been busy, so not so much time for the important things like wildlife and painting. A snowy Easter caught our cows out - they were not too happy! The children enjoyed it though.
Some Bumble Bees have been out and about prior to this week, so they will hopefully be avoiding the cold snap.
Friday, 15 February 2008
North Norfolk and a Twitch(!)
We went as a family to North Norfolk for a long weekend. The weather was glorious and birdwatching was good. We visited Titchwell RSPB http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/t/titchwellmarsh/index.asp, Snettisham RSPB http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/s/snettisham/index.asp, Cley NWT http://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature%20reserves/map-links/cley.htm and Pensthorpe http://www.pensthorpe.com/. We even fitted in time for our second ever twitch - the long staying White-crowned Sparrow at Cley.
As this is supposed to be an insect blog, I will mention the insects we saw. Some 7 spot Ladybirds were around at Snettisham and most sites had various Bumble Bees (Mainly Bombus terrestris, with a few Bombus lucorum).
This cheeky little Robin was in the car park at Titchwell RSPB. It was very tame and came right up to us.
Numerous other birds were around at all the reserves we visited. Lots of Brent Geese, as well as Pink-footed at Snettisham.
Stonechats were much in evidence and we got good views. On the beach at Cley, a birdwatcher kindly pointed out a flock of Snow Buntings to us, much to the children's delight.
Eleanor was practising her filming again and seems to be improving all the time. She got good footage of Redshank, ducks and Egrets, as well as some Marsh Harriers.
We rounded of the trip with a visit to Pensthorpe to see the Cranes and Corncrakes.
As this is supposed to be an insect blog, I will mention the insects we saw. Some 7 spot Ladybirds were around at Snettisham and most sites had various Bumble Bees (Mainly Bombus terrestris, with a few Bombus lucorum).
This cheeky little Robin was in the car park at Titchwell RSPB. It was very tame and came right up to us.
Numerous other birds were around at all the reserves we visited. Lots of Brent Geese, as well as Pink-footed at Snettisham.
Stonechats were much in evidence and we got good views. On the beach at Cley, a birdwatcher kindly pointed out a flock of Snow Buntings to us, much to the children's delight.
Eleanor was practising her filming again and seems to be improving all the time. She got good footage of Redshank, ducks and Egrets, as well as some Marsh Harriers.
We rounded of the trip with a visit to Pensthorpe to see the Cranes and Corncrakes.
Sunday, 30 December 2007
What I am working on
I am currently working on the paintings for an A5 plate for the genera of British solitary bees. This is harder than I thought it would be! They are tricky insects to paint for a start. The research is not straightforward and trying to show them in a life-like pose is quite a challenge.
They take a long while, so I am not sure when the finished product will be available. So keep checking the website http://www.bombus.freeserve.co.uk/catalogue.htm for details of availability.
I have been painting the bees for some time already. I was even filmed by the BBC at work! This is for a new series to be shown on BBC4 in Spring 2008. The series features amateur naturalists and our family are on a programme about insects. I will put more on the Blog nearer the time.
They take a long while, so I am not sure when the finished product will be available. So keep checking the website http://www.bombus.freeserve.co.uk/catalogue.htm for details of availability.
I have been painting the bees for some time already. I was even filmed by the BBC at work! This is for a new series to be shown on BBC4 in Spring 2008. The series features amateur naturalists and our family are on a programme about insects. I will put more on the Blog nearer the time.
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