Active Bumblebees in early February??

[Cameleopard]

Hi Everyone,

While sitting in our local community garden today (which is in North London) I was surprised to see several bumble bees whizzing about (it's a very cold bright day). Not sure of the species, but they had a red tail. Are these queens who are coming out of hibernation early? If so, does anyone know if they're likely to go back into hibernation, or are they just going to perish if the cold snap continues?

Sorry if this is a dozy question, it's my first!

Thanks

Cameleopard

[eucera]

Welcome Cameleopard (or Giraffe)!

Winter active bumbles are a new phenomenon in UK. Virtually ALL records have been of Bombus terrestris, the so-called "Buff-tailed bumblebee". The problem here is that although the QUEENS have orange-buff tails but the workers have snow white tails... so you may have seen queens of this species.

Alternatively, you could just possibly have seen workers or queens of Bombus pratorum. This species is much less frequently seen in the winter time, but there are regular sightings from the Windsor area (and also from south western France).

If you ever get a pic of one, I could have a look and see what these might be.

As far as hibernation goes... if you have queens flying about, they may well go back into hibernation.... if you have workers, the nest may well be at the active stage, with workers foraging for pollen.

[naturelover]

Hi welcome to wab have fun and enjoy.

[Cameleopard]

Thanks Naturelover, WAB is FAB!

Eucera, I wonder, does this mean that

a) Some hives are not breaking up in autumn but are lasting right through the winter, or

b) That queens are starting to establish new hives much earlier?

Very interesting, thanks for your help!

[eucera]

I suspect that some queens establish nests in the Autumn... the workers we see at this time of the year may be their offspring. This would also explain the males that are seen occasionally in April and also a crop of new queens in May