Thread by @the_beeguy

Lots of people asking us about #bumblebees at the moment - why they’re seeing them on the ground - so here’s a quick thread to explain what they’re up to. Please share as every #queen that survives means a new colony that gets to exist & produce new queen #bees for next year! 1/7

Bumblebee queens emerge in early spring from hibernation and immediately need to feed - that’s why early flowering plants are so important. Apart from feeding, their mission at this time is to find a suitable site to establish a nest. Hence you will observe queens flying low 2/7

…to the ground zig-zagging across the landscape - they’re house-hunting. Stopping to explore in long grass and vegetation, hollows in trees, stone walls, under sheds and even compost heaps. During this time bumblebee queens spend a lot of their time resting between flights. 3/7

These between flight stopovers can last for up to an hour and they are not always careful about where they take them - sometimes the middle of a footpath can be the ‘ideal’ spot. So if you see a big #bumblebee chilling on the ground don’t always presume they need rescuing! 4/7

As with sleeping dogs leave resting #bees lie - for up to an hour before intervening. (Unless of course she is in imminent danger whereby she should be carefully moved to a safe place). If after about an hour she is still present then she may need assistance. 5/7

In this case preference is to move her to a nearby source of #nectar - a #flower! If no flowers are nearby she can be offered a 50/50 mix of white sugar and water. NEVER offer her honey as although it would seem to be the obvious action honey can contain pathogens that may 6/7

..be harmful to #bumblebees. Usually once she takes on some sugars & heats up she’ll happily fly off. Don’t bring her indoors for long periods!
Thanks for reading/caring. PLEASE RETWEET this forward. The more informed, the more queens survive & the more #bees we have. Simple. 7/7