Garden bees

The wildflower patch has come to life in the last couple of weeks and there are loads of bumblebees on the knapweed now. Rob spotted the Red tailed cuckoo bumblebee, Bombus rupestris, with fine red hairs on its legs. This is a nest parasite of the Red tailed bumblebee, a male in my photo with a yellow head. Also a Common Carder.
We had a walk at Helsington Barrows but it has to be said, there are far more insects to see in our garden.
I did some more honey bottling, that’s 60lbs now! I will have a break before seeing if we have some of the precious Lime tree honey to harvest too.