Bumblebee queens in spring: The awakening of sleeping beauties

The first bumblebee queen of the year is always eagerly anticipated. The first ones are normally buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). They emerge from mid-February onwards, very large bumblebees with two yellow bands and a buff-coloured tail. If you see a slightly smaller bumblebee, with two yellow bands as well but a pure white tail, you have a white-tailed bumblebee queen (Bombus lucorum).
The queens you see emerging now are the new queens produced last year which have overwintered somewhere underground or in other sheltered places, protected from frost and rain. I once found a hibernating queen in my compost heap. I now try to leave my compost area alone in winter to provide a save place for wildlife to hibernate.
Emerging queens will be very hungry and need nectar-rich flowers to fill their empty stomach. The crocuses on my allotment always seem to be highly attractive, it only needs some warm sunshine at the end of February and the bumblebee queens appear. They also like the hellebores, snowdrops and I have also seen them visiting shrubs such like fragrant honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) and Mahonia.
Music: First Day of Spring by David Hilowitz

[@swiattrzmieli2057]

Very beautiful flowers and bumblebees👍👌🐝🌷🌹

[@MyWildlifeAllotment]

Thank you :-) After some warmer weather winter is back now and most bumblebees are hiding somewhere sheltered, waiting for warmer weather. It is very quiet now, hopefully they will survive the cold spell.

[@sherry2836]

Beautiful! Thank you for teaching me something new today. Your Mahonia plant is also beautiful.

[@MyWildlifeAllotment]

Thank you :-) The Mahonia plant was actually not on my allotment but along the road. I would not have the space for such a large plant. It has gone cold here again and the bumblebees have mostly disappeared, most will be hiding somewhere sheltered waiting for warmer weather.

[@thekingstone8632]

Beautiful video of the bumble bee finding his energy food ,you have some wonderful flowers for them too xxxShaz 🌸🌺🐝🌷☘⚘🌼🐞🌴🌾🌼🌸🦋🍀🌿🌾💐

[@MyWildlifeAllotment]

Thank you :-) The poor bumblebees have quite a hard time this year, after some mild weather in March and early April it has gone very cold again now and they all went into hiding to wait for warmer weather. Hope they will survive the freezing cold nights.