I'll bee seeing you...

According to the Wildlife Trust web sites this may be an old queen, settling down for her final hours on our back garden bench. Red-tailed bumblebee queens either hibernate for the winter or (being the usurped queen) die in the autumn. And autumn certainly feels like it's arrived, with chill and damp air fleeting around the still colourful flowerbeds. Of course, she may simply be resting mid-hunt for her winter home (let's hope so, eh), and there are many places set aside at the bottom of the garden, with leaf litter and loam to burrow into. I shall have to spend more time out back, because I'm a bit behind with the grand bug hotel, although most of the bits are to hand now.