The Manx Wildlife Trust is the island’s leading conservation charity, and we work to protect the island’s habitat and wildlife.

It’s well known that our insect pollinators are on the decline and this month we are looking at the charismatic bumblebee.

The buzz of a bumblebee epitomises summer and who isn’t fascinated by watching one climb clumsily onto a flower?

Bumblebee are believed to have evolved in the Himalayas about 30 million years ago, their furry bodies are well adapted to colder climates and most species of bumblebee are found in the Northern Hemisphere. Today the UK has 24 species of bumblebee which is 11% of the world’s total number of species.

Bumblebees are social insects establishing small colonies where they raise their offspring in a highly structured community with a queen bumblebee at the head who emerges from hibernation between March and May depending on the species. Her first task is to eat pollen and nectar to rebuild her fat stores. This is why springtime dandelions are so important as a food source for them. If you do one thing for nature this year, please let the dandelions flower in your lawns for the queen bumblebees.

The queen then must find a suitable nest site with flowers nearby to feed on and a warm sunny location. They often re-use old rodent burrows, compost heaps and even up turned flowerpots. Carder bees prefer to use piles of old leaves and moss so please leave an untidy corner to your garden!

Into this nest the queen creates a pot of nectar from which she will sip as she lays her eggs on a ball of pollen she has made. She them incubates them with her body warmth. An interesting fact is that the pupa only develops an anus towards the end of pupation, so they don’t ruin the pollen food source with faeces!

Less than half the bees laid will grow into adults. The first larvae to hatch will develop into workers, as their wings harden and the body fur grows, they have the task of keeping the nest tidy before going off to collect food for the colony. At the end of the season the queen will lay male and female bees which will establish new colonies, only the queens will survive the winter.So how can you tell the difference between bumblebee species?

It can be tricky and confusing as male and females can look very different as can worker bees, but a top tip is to look at the tip of the abdomen, is it white, red or gingery at the tip? Next look at the banding, if it has two yellow bands then it will be a buff tailed bumblebee whereas three bands is a garden bumblebee. Count the bands as separate on each distinct body part. To go further with identification you really need a hand lens and a lot of patience! To add to the confusion there are bees out there that mimic bumblebees so well that it’s down to details like do they have hairy legs or not! But that is for another article.

To find out more about bumblebees look at the species list under the “learn and discover” tab on the Manx Wildlife Trust website mwt.im. Also why not download a spotting guide from our Education resources page, take a cup of tea out into the garden and have a go at trying to identify one of these delightful creatures.