Still busy...

The Common Carder-bee is one of the first bumblebees to be seen in spring and one of the last to be seen in autumn, though, unlike the Buff-tailed Bumblebee, it doesn't emerge on mild days in the winter. Nests are made above-ground in tall, but open grassland, under hedges and piles of plant litter. It gathers moss and dry grass to make the covering of the nest. Nest sizes are fairly small, with 60-150 workers. The life-cycle of the nest is remarkably long, with workers still present in September and October in some cases.


Another grey but mild day, the morning spent entering data from last week's fieldwork, while this afternoon I mowed the lawn and carried on with more garden tidying. Despite the fact that I'm fighting off a cold virus, I need to be back out in the field again tomorrow -  a long trek round miles of fenland ditches. But at least it shouldn't be too hot...