Welcome to The Bumblebee Pages. The menu above and on the left will take you to the major sections of the web site. If you are not sure which page you should be looking at try Google's search box at the top right of this, and every page.
The site is divided into five major areas:
- Bumblebees which deals solely with bumblebees, and was the original part of the site.
- Invertebrates, which deals with all the other invertebrates.
- Homework answers, where you'll find hints and tips to common questions set as biology, ecology, botany, zoology homework, there are also definitions of common terms in biology.
- Window box gardens, this was started when we were exiled to central Paris, and 2 north-facing window boxes were all the garden available, however it was amazing the wildlife those window boxes attracted. You'll find plant lists, hints and tips, etc.
- Torphins, this is the village in north-east Scotland where we are now located. In this part of the site you can find photographs of invertebrates found locally, where to see them and when, also links to pages with more detailed information.
Steph O'Connor, at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a U.K. based charity, is doing some research into where bumblebee nests are found in 2010 and would love your data!
What is a bumblebee?
Bumblebees are large, hairy social insects with a lazy buzz and clumsy, bumbling flight. Many of them are black and yellow, and along
with ladybirds and butterflies are perhaps the only insects that almost everyone likes. Queen and worker bumblebees can sting, and the photograph on the right shows the extended sting of a Bombus lapidarius queen. You don't often see stings as bumblebees are reluctant to use them. For more on this go to the sting page.
Bees and Einstein
It has been widely reported that Einstein said that without bees to pollinate our food crops humans would die off in just 4 years. He was wrong, we will die off in 7 years. We have been warned, but will it do any good? We are the most intelligent animal that has ever lived, but we have not yet acquired the ability to learn from our mistakes, and we continue to elect politicians who promise us jam today and jam tomorrow. Isn't it time we grew up?
Where are bumblebees found?
Bumblebees are
found mainly in northern temperate regions, though there are a few native South
American species and New Zealand has some naturalised species that were
introduced around 100 years ago to pollinate red clover. They range much
further north than honey bees, and colonies can be found on Ellesmere Island in
northern Canada, only 880 km from the north pole! |
above the sting of a Bombus lapdarius queen, and below a Bombus terrestris/lucorum worker foraging.
|
