Introduction

Our Bumblebee nesting project started in 2011 as a bit of conservation to help the declining bumblebee population by encouraging one (or more) to nest in boxes in our garden. We discovered it's not easy, and our project quickly evolved into an ongoing and intimate study of these amazing creatures, which we are sharing here for the benefit of all.

Amongst our unexpected successes are:

A short clip in the film "Britain in a Day" by Ridley Scott (Broadcast by the BBC in 2012)

Featured in Wired Magazine for creating the World's first tweeting bumblebees

Winner of the Internet of Things award 2012 - Environmental Category

Oldest recorded age we can find of a worker Bufftailed Bumblebee - at 103 days

We've discovered, observed and collected a sizeable amount of real-world data, still being analysed and written up (Overview here). Additionally,

We've sourced several live colonies from commercial providers and have been looking after numerous disabled bees indoors.

We've learnt to recognise individual bees, spot specific/individual behaviour patterns

We measured efficiency and can predict some of their behaviour triggers.

We have some CCTV cameras pointing at the nestboxes and inside!

You can also follow BeeBoxALula on twitter where our bumblebees tweet live for themselves!

Insights

We're also using tech to monitor the lives of our bumblebees - visual, audio, temperature, sunlight, weather. We can see how the environment impacts their behaviour and understand, capture and share the marvels of their secret lives.

As a species under great threat, we've brought the critical study of Bumblebees into the Multimedia age and revealed intriguing and new insights based on direct observation.

The day started with great anticipation, coming down early to see what BB19 was upto. At about 8.45am we heard a bit of scratching and very low dull buzzes. This continued in small bursts for about 30 minutes. Then we went silent for an hour. By this time BCW had to stop observing the camera.

By the time BCW came back, BB19 had gone! It's pretty much what we expected. We had unblocked the nest and just loosely filled the entrance with grass during the night, so that BB19 was free to burrow out when she wanted. Aside from being the kindest thing for her, we hoped that the grass in the entrance would "explain" why the box seemed blocked the night before. Of course, this might be way beyond the average comprehension or memory of a bee, but we don't really know :-) Also, she'd get the sense that the nest entrance was fairly secure, which might be encouraging to her. Anyway, she buzzed off and hasn't been seen today!

It was a very warm day today, so we were able to leave it later to go out bee-hunting. BCW had discovered a new spot with lots of Carder bees, although they were foraging for pollen high up in some tree blossom, so not suitable for catching. However, it is a new location to add to our catchment area. As we were heading there she spotted a bumble (BB20) .diving down into the nearby grass and, of course, being a bee-catching-wizard she managed to catch it in the pot. It was about 6.30pm 15 degrees or so, so a good time to be bedding down.

BB20 - unrecognised species at time of writing

We didn't really recognise the bee so were a bit concerned it was a cuckoo bee - but we just couldn't be sure. One of the confusing elements is the 3 apparent stripes on the tail: Buff, White and Buff. She is quite long and thin rather than plump. And we couldn't be 100% sure she had pollen baskets on her back legs. In the interests of time we decided I would take the bee anyway and try and nest her while BCW carried on looking. I brought her to the front box; she was placid on the walk home but more agitated when I tried to nest her. In the end she took 30 minutes to go into the box, which must have been quite tiring.

Once she went into the nestbox she was very calm. She didn't do burrowing or cleaning behaviour but just did a few revolutions of the box. She didn't even appear to try and find an exit (unlike BB19 last night). After less than 5 minutes she just bedded down on top of the bedding at the far end of the box and went to sleep in full view!

BB20 in dreamland!

We've looked at the identification sheet from the bumblebee conservation trust and can't find one that matches tonight's guest; so that's something we need to follow up.

UPDATE:

using the guide from the natural history museum (see our Bee Links) we are confident this is in fact a Vestal Cuckoo bee - i.e. a Bufftail Mimic that would try to take over a genuine bufftail nest. Obviously there is no way she would stay in an unoccupied box. Nor do we want her hanging around to do so! We

Nik Sargent

Nik Sargent

Bumblebee Project Home / Blog

Nik Sargent

Introduction

Insights

Blog:

Into the Unknown

Nik Sargent