![]() ![]() The hard-working females have left their eggs sealed inside a nest in a cavity or burrow, provided with food stores of pollen and nectar. Unlike honeybees and bumblebees, all the adults generally die off before winter comes. They overwinter in different ways depending on the species. Solitary bees are diverse, with varied lifestyles and you can learn to identify different types with our handy bee identification guide. White tailed bumblebee Sleepy solitary bees This phenomenon has even seen bumblebees flying on Christmas and New Year’s day! You can record your sightings of winter-active bumblebees on the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society website. This increasing trend was first noticed in the Buff-tailed bumblebee, but the Early bumblebee and Tree bumblebee are following suit. These overwintering nests are more common in the milder southern counties, especially in urban areas where they are fueled by winter-flowering garden plants, such as mahonia and heathers. Some queens choose to start new nests instead of hibernating. However, over the past decade or so, things are changing. Despite this, some may still emerge confused on warm winter days. They burrow into soft earth or under logs and stones to escape the frost, preferring north-facing banks where they will avoid being warmed up too early by the winter sun. Typically, the newly-mated queens hibernate through winter. After the new queens are produced and mate in the summer and autumn, the workers, males and old queens die off by winter time. The various species of British bumblebee have a very different strategy to honeybees. Credit: Linda Taylor Burrowing bumblebees ![]()
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