Bumblebees and Gardens
Did you Know..
- That Bumblebees have been around for millions of years - many flowers evolved in partnership with them.
- That there are 23 or so species in Britain (the exact number depends how you classify them).
- That there are six species - commonly called the 'Big Six' that do very well in gardens and their populations are currently holding up - but only so long as gardeners grow suitable flowers that they can use as a food source.
- That several other Bumblebee species are now rare and declining as we thoughtlessly destroy their habitat in the name of progress.
- That several species have become extinct in Britain in the last century.
- That a Bumblebee species new to Britain, the Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) moved here just a few years ago. It is a common species in Northern Europe.
Here are links to two short factsheets about Bumblebees that I have written for gardeners : You can download them as PDFs.
The first contains general info about bumblebees, their lifestyle, and bumblebee nest sites:
BUMBLEBEE BASICS
The second has a list of typical flowers that bumblebees like - garden flowers and wild flowers - based on personal observation and research:
There are lots of recent books about Bumblebees. They are reviewed in a special Bumblebee section in my wildlife gardening bibliography, which you can download from the READING page.
You may have noticed that there is a page on this website that tells you how to make a bee house. It refers to solitary bees, not Bumblebees. They are very different! There is more information about some common solitary bees and their favourite flowers in my 'World of Wild Bees' factsheet which you can download from the FACTSHEETS page.
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Why not make a garden that Bumbleees find just as enjoyable as you do!
© Marc Carlton 2008. You are welcome to print this page, but for personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes only. Re-publication in any medium without permission is prohibited.
Marc is happy to give talks about bumblebees, flowers, and gardens.