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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

.........down at the bottom of the garden.

We've got a bees nest in our garden shed...... not in the potting shed thank goodness, but one of the others at the bottom of the garden. I've been doing a bit of tidying up down there - nothing major, just so we can walk in a straight line without stepping over obstacles - and I noticed all these lovely little bees periodically crawling through the gap under the door of the shed.


Bombus pratorum, the universal pollinator

What gorgeous bees... with orange bottoms. I'd never seen bees like this before so after typing 'orange-bottomed bee' into Google I discovered that this species is called Bombus pratorum, the Early Bumblebee. As for not having seen this kind of bee, I read that it is our universal pollinator, pollinating well over 140 different kinds of flowers. You can read more about Bombus and see some beautiful photographs by going here.





Although I sometimes go into the shed, for a bamboo cane or a seedtray, etc., I haven't explored the corner where I suspect the nest is, and it's too dark to see as ivy has totally covered the only window. I remember putting a bag of shredded paper there some time ago, which is now well-hidden behind various discarded garden pots so that's probably where they are.



A nest of Bombus pratorum


'Our' bees are welcome to stay in the garden shed for as long as they like. I enjoy watching them coming and going from under the door and they take no notice of me at all, but fly round me and off on to the more important job of collecting pollen.

I don't think they'll be here for much longer though, as I've read that bees die off round about Autumn. Just when I was missing the robins, Mother Nature sent me bees. I wonder what she'll send next.


(photographs courtesy of the worldwide web)

20 comments:

  1. Wow!!!! What amazing photos!!!! I don't know that I've ever seen one of those bees - I never get close enough to check out their bums!

    We do, however have the occasional red and black striped ant-looking thing. It scuttles along so quickly I've never been able to get a photo of it. It's about a inch or more long, three sectioned like an ant, and is fire engine red and black striped. Any ideas?

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  2. wow, beautiful little bee! your pictures are great too!

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  3. Hi Ethelmae. I don't take any credit for the photos as I got them from the worldwide web. I don't usually look at bees' bums either (lol), but these were so distinctive that I couldn't help but notice. :D

    Your little beastie sounds like it could be a soldier beetle. Here's a link with photographs of various red and black insects. It might help you identify it.

    http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/redandblack.htm

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  4. Hi G. Oh I feel awful now with everyone thinking I've taken the photographs. I did put a little note at the bottom of my post saying I didn't take them, but it must be too small to be noticeable. Ooooops. But these bees are very beautiful indeed. :)

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  5. They are very pretty bees, I think their orange fluffy bottoms are so cute and what wonderful, clever, little creatures they are.
    They do so much in the garden and their hives that we should be thankful for. :-)
    xoxoxo ♡

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  6. Hi Dianne, I totally agree. Bees are invaluable. I feel honoured that they've made their nest in our shed. I'm not sure if they're pollinating the flowers in our garden though, as they seem to head off into the distance...... probably into next door's greenhouse. :O)

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  7. I've tried for years to attact bees to nest in my wildlife garden but I've never succeeded as far as I know.... lucky you.

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  8. Hi David, I'm a very untidy gardener and the beasties take advantage of that. :)

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  9. I'm not one of those people who get scared by lovely bees Lesley!
    Mind you, I know some big men who literally run screaming in a very high pitched voice when they come close!!!

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  10. I should imagine if a bee gave you any hassle, you'd simply tell it to p.o. in your own greenfingerish style. :O)

    Lol at the big men bit! Our neigbour's one of those. When he encountered a bees nest in their rose arch, he did what I can only describe as a riverdance all the way down the garden. :O)

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  11. Hi Leslie,

    Just letting you know that I checked out your suggested link, as well as several others, and it seems I have a Cow Killer Ant! Also known as a Velvet Ant, it is actually a female flightless wasp, and quite poisonous. They apparently will sting with the slightest provocation and about 10 stings can kill a child!

    Also, since you pointed it out, of course I can see that you give credit to the web. I just never noticed it before! But still...great photos you FOUND!

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  12. omg, Ethelmae you'll have to watch your little dogs in case they come up against the Velvet Ant!

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  13. Lesley,
    I saw your comment on my blog so thought i'd check to see if YOU had posted recently. I don't know how i keep missing your postings.
    I absolutely love bees.........the buzzing is THE sound of summer for me. It's unbelievable how many species there are. When i was resourcing after finding those hives whilst out walking i discovered that farmers often pay bee keepers to bring their hives to them for pollination! So it shows how important these creatures are. A big up for messy gardeners that's what i say.
    John

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  14. Lesley, you are not going to believe this...I was stung by one of those cow killer ants last night!!!! Just after I'd been doing some research on them! Felt like I'd been hit by lightening! I immediately applied pressure (stung on my right pinkie finger) then tourniqueted it for 15 minute intervals; slept with ice on it all night. This morning, it's still quite swollen and ON FIRE, and that side of my hand as well, but I think I stopped the poison from spreading further. Whew! Catastrophe averted.

    Exterminator coming next week!

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  15. Hi John,
    You probably keep 'missing' me because my posts have been few and far between of late because of my O.U. work, and my plant sales on eBay have been keeping me busy too. I'm taking a break once this course has finished and plant sales will be slowing up soon, so I'll be able to post more often..... except that in November it's Nanowrimo!
    http://www.nanowrimo.org/ :O)

    The buzz of bees mean Summer to me too...... sitting on the step in the garden with a cuppa and listening to the bees flitting about from poppy to poppy. Bliss. :)

    Yep, we messy gardeners who, unwittingly, provide homes for bees are worth our weight in gold! :D
    ;)

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  16. Ethelmae, perhaps you should get that checked out at the hospital..... you've got me worried now!

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  17. The way i read it Lesley.............
    You are going to spend 4 weeks writing crap??
    I do it all the time, especially on my blog!
    John

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  18. Wow, what beautiful bees, Lesley! This is the first I've seen of them and they are really pretty! Thanks for sharing.

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  19. Lol John! You read it right. :O)
    (..... and stop pretending to be modest! *blows a raspberry*)

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  20. Hi Deedee. :) Funnily enough I'm seeing orange-bottomed bees everywhere I go now. :O)

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