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.

Our bumblebees provide an endless source of fascinating entertainment - any organised/social animal colonies are intriguing to see in action in their own right, but the chaotic, bumbly nature of bumblebees adds a Chaplinesque sprinkling of fun to the whole occasion.

We've learnt so much with such observations, but some things still remain a little of a mystery. Here are some of the current ones:

1) We don't know if we have a Queen in our nest or not. We found a dead bumble outside the box when we got back from Holiday, with some pollen on her legs. Could have been a/the remaining queen. But strangely two remaining (and easily identifiable) bees in the nest are still collecting pollen and nectar. This usually suggests a developing brood, though it's hard to see how.

2) Our "nest fixer" bee only occasionally goes out to collect pollen; perhaps once a day, although she does go out more regularly, perhaps to drink. But, we've put a local supply of honey water in the nest for her and she loves it, visiting frequently (e.g. every 2 minutes) until it's run dry. Where is it all going? She can't be drinking it all? We can only conclude she is filling every available honey pot with honey taken from this supply. So, regardless of what mya be brooding, she seems driven to save for a rainy day.

3) Our "pollen collector" bee spends all day going out and collecting pollen. Trips from 15 minutes to 90 minutes are usual. Who is she collecting it for? Is she a queen? We can't quite tell from her size on the CCTV. But, last night she went out at 4.30 and didn't come back. My heart sank: made a break for it? Killed in action? I hate these moments.

Then, at 9am this morning she returned - only to the ledge of the nest though - and didn't go in! And off she went again! I'm at a loss to explain this behaviour at the moment, and so once again, my heart sankk. Thankfully, at midday she returned! So, a total of almost 18 hours away from the nest. Why? Where?

4) While she was gone I saw activity from what seemed to be 2 bees - both thin and stripy like our "nest fixer". The uncertainty arises because of the possibility of a technical malfunction on the CCTV which misses something like a bee coming back into the nest. That could trick you into thinking it was still out and thus miscounting another one that's inside. But these events were just a few minutes apart and I think the CCTV can actually be relied upon. So, perhaps we do indeed have a new hatchling that has joined us. That would be amazing.

The proof in the pudding will be finding when she leaves the nest and whether she performs some navigation circling (memorisation) of location.

If that happens, I'll definitely crack open a shandy.

Nik Sargent

Nik Sargent

Bumblebee Project Home / Blog

Nik Sargent

Introduction

Insights

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Crack open the shandy?

Nik Sargent