Many queen bumblebees are still hibernating in the soil, leaf litter, and old logs. Resist the urge to start digging or ‘tidying up’ too soon, to avoid disturbing them. 😴 (In fact it’s a great idea to let parts of your garden stay a bit wilder all year round to support a range of wildlife!) Find out more in our hibernation blog.
Bumblebees do not make honey, so unlike honeybees (which live inside their hive all winter feeding on the honey that they produce throughout the summer), bumblebee nests have a short, annual lifecycle, completely relying on flowers for all their food.
At the end of the summer (and sometimes half-way through, depending on the species!) – when their favourite flowers have gone to seed and died off – big, bright bumblebee queens emerge from their nests and begin to look for somewhere safe and cosy to hibernate.
Read more about bumblebees, including: how to help hibernating bumblebees, how to avoid disturbing bumblebees and helping winter active bumblebees HERE
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