Bumblebees

I was going to write about bees here in Ireland in general but then realised that they are so varied and vast that I would have to break it down into their groups, so being one of my favourite insects I thought I would start with the lovely Bumblebee.
There are 21 native Bumblebee species in Ireland with some of them becoming endangered in the last few years so a little knowledge about these wonderful little pollinators can't be a bad thing.

Unlike the Honeybee or Wasps Bumblebees nest on the ground or slightly below the soil. They will sometimes use old mouse holes or rabbit burrows but often they will be found under the roots of trees or deep hedge grass.

They are social insects, the queen will start a new hive each year laying eggs and producing female workers who build the nest, clean it and go out and forage for nectar and pollen for the hive. The males once mature leave the nest and will seek to mate with new queens.

Both the males and females are excellent pollinators, especially for the likes of tomatoes and peppers as their specific vibration shakes free pollen that other insects fail to do. They also cover vast ground being known to travel up to a 5km radius from their nest.
The females have little 'basket' type structures on their hind legs to carry pollen back to the hive. The males though lacking this basket often just get covered in pollen and so inadvertently carry it to other flowers in their 'fluff'.

Bumblebees are naturally very docile creatures, they will rarely sting unless they feel they have to defend the hive. The females have a sting similar to a honeybee yet they can sting repeatedly without dying. The males don't have a sting. I have often caught and carried a confused bumblebee in my bare hand from the greenhouse and never been stung. (I don't advise this as there is definitely a possibility that they might!)

They emerge from the hive each year in March to May with females being the first to come along. The males are often born later in the season.
You can tell the difference between the male and females by the female having the pollen 'basket' on the hind legs and the male having whitish or yellow hairs on the face sometimes referred to as a 'moustache'.

As I mentioned above we have 21 native species here, 8 of those (known as the 'Big 8') are the most common and they are;


The Buff-Tailed -  has a distinctive yellow band and a very fluffy white bottom.

The White Tailed - looks a lot like the Buff but a more powdered yellow band and pure white tail.

The Common Carder - Smaller in size and a ginger or reddish colouring.

The Early Bumblebee - often the first to appear, smaller and has a thin yellow collar and a red tail.

Red Tailed Bumblebee - an easy one to spot as it's nearly all black with a red tail.

Garden Bumblebee - three stripes and a longer face than the others.

Tree Bumblebee - this species has only arrived in the past 10 years or so, it's a good bit smaller and nests in trees beneath bark or in disused bird boxes.

 Heath Bumblebee - This is hard to distinguish from the Garden Bumblebee other than being a lot smaller.


So next time you are in the garden and see a Bumblebee see if you can get a look and figure out which species it is. For further information and to take part in a monitoring scheme if you like you can go to Biodiversity Ireland's website to find out more.