NEN Gallery

This is a very common bumblebee which has black and lemon-yellow bands and a white 'tail'. It emerges early in the spring and can be seen feeding on flowers right through to the autumn. It can be found in a wider range of habitats - gardens, farmland, woodland edges, hedgerows and heathland. This is a social bee. The new queens that are produced during the life of the colony each year overwinter and emerge from hibernation in the spring. They start a new colony by laying a few eggs that hatch as female workers; which tend the young and nest. Males emerge later and mate with new females to produce new prospective queens. The males and old queen die in the autumn. Picture taken at Felmersham Nature Reserve15th July 2011