Farm visits

Hello everyone
 
Well its been an odd year for the bumblebees with overall numbers down on all our transects. We think the harsh winter, followed by a slow spring and then the drought didn't help the bees with finding enough nectar and pollen. However we have had some very good news from the marsh and surrounding areas. I held a bumblebee farm day event a few weeks back and have since been round to visit some of the farmers. Here's some pictures of some of the farms I have visited. Firstly the red clover fields at the Deans and Simon Wrights red clover margin (which he left from after hay making). Most hay making on the marsh has now taken place but there are still places on the marsh which offer late foraging for the later emerging species. The wind farm is ones of these. Newly seeded this year, it has had an amazing number of the moss carder bee, Bombus muscorum , foraging on the red clover. In fact this year the number of B. humilis and B. muscorum found in new locations has risen. This is great news for these fantastic and rare bees. This highlights the areas of Romney marsh across East Sussex and Kent as really important habitats for these bee species. 
 
Till next time