Bumblebee hive
This summer we have had a lot of activity on the reserve with bees! We have had a honey bee swarm decide that the main hide was their favourite area on the reserve and take up residence. Thankfully they have been safely removed by local bee keepers from Welney village. Honey bee hives can grow to be tens of thousands of bees strong so the group that we had was relatively small but there were still a good few thousand bees which caused a bit of a problem for a few days.
The other hive of bees also seems to favour this area but has taken to building a hide beneath the decking at the back of the main hide. These are white-tailed bumblebees, which are much fewer in number and really aren't a threat at all to our visitors.
They have been quietly collecting nectar from the flowers on the reserve and returning to the hive to turn it into honey. Whereas honey bees create an excess of honey, over and above what they need, the bumblebees create a much more modest amount so you can't harvest their supplies. On warm, sunny days this summer you can sit on the benches or picnic table on the veranda and enjoy watching these busy insects going about their business.
