The bilberry bumblebee

Also known as the mountain bumblebee (Bombus monticola), I think this is our prettiest bumblebee.  These were foraging on willows in Northumberland this week.  The photos are a bit grainy because the light was poor just before (more) heavy rain but I was very pleased to see them.  I think these are all workers as they were quite small compared with nearby queen white-tailed bumblebees.

These images from the iRecord website show the upland distribution, usually in areas with bilberry, hence the name.  In fact B. monticola also likes willows, gorse, heather, clover, bird's-foot-trefoil, devil's-bit scabious, etc.  My photos were taken just south of Rothbury.

In search of the mountain bumblebee

A few days ago I joined a walk led by Shaun Hackett, a Northumberland National Park Ranger and bumblebee expert, to look for Bombus monticola, the mountain bumblebee (aka bilberry bumblebee).  It is confined to northern and western parts of Great Britain, mainly because of its preference for bilberry and willow flowers in spring and bilberry and heather later in the season.  We visited an area of bilberry close to Rothbury and were rewarded by seeing one B. monticola queen.  It was put in a pot for all to see close up although this didn't make for great photos.

We also saw all seven common bumblebee species including garden bumblebee (B. hortorum),

tree bumblebee (B. hypnorum),

red-tailed bumblebee (B. lapidarius),

white-tailed bumblebee (B. lucorum),

common carder bee (B. pascuorum),

early bumblebee (B. pratorum), a poor photo but included for completeness,

and buff-tailed bumblebee (B. terrestris), the only one I didn't get a photo of.

Another bumblebee was new to me, heath bumblebee (B. jonellus).

There were at least two species of cuckoo bumblebees although I am not sure which one this is, possibly B. sylvestris.

We saw two mining bees, Andrena fulva, the tawny mining bee,

and Andrena lapponica, the bilberry mining bee.

Other highlights were common heath moth (Ematurga atomaria)

and tiger beetle (Cicindella campestris).

After the walk I went to an area nearby with Louise, our local bee expert, and we saw several more B. monticola queens and two workers.  They were on the move and high in the trees which made photography difficult.

I didn't notice at the time but this one was being propositioned by an overambitious Andrena male.

This map from the BWARS website shows the distribution of B. monticola so I feel privileged  to have it within range of where I live.

Early morning bumblebee

Like most of us, bumblebees take time to get going in the morning.  I found this one early yesterday in bright sunshine but with an air temperature of only 2 or 3℃.  It is a mountain bumblebee queen (Bombus monticola), still not warm enough to fly comfortably.  Perhaps the most attractive bumblebee, it is also known as the bilberry bumblebee, appropriate here as it was sheltering at the base of bilberry plants.  It was shy about having its photo taken and flew of without striking a better pose than these.

The bilberry bumblebee

This is a bee I have been hoping to see for the past couple of years.  I eventually found one in Harwood Forest in Northumberland where I was doing my walk for the BTO Breeding Bird Survey.  It is a queen Bombus monticola, the bilberry bumblebee.  It is quite unmistakeable with its bright pink/orange tail.

Bombus monticola is found mainly in upland habitats but, despite its name, is not limited to bilberry.  This one was feeding on gorse.

I'll keep my eyes open on the next visit next month to look for more of these beautiful bees.