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Photo by Sparky Stensaas / www.stoneridgepress.com
Flowering plants attract many active spring insects. These usually are the early-rising butterflies and bees; including Bumblebees. Bumblebees, our largest bees, are a great addition to the April scene. Winter is spent in the dormant hibernation state that insects have perfected. This diapause is usually in the shelter of a log, board or rock on the ground. It is here that the queen, the only survivor from last year’s colony, crawled into last fall. With plenty of nectar and pollen from late season flowers, she ate well. My students and I have often marveled at the Bumblebees on asters, red clovers and thistles as the autumn days cool. Stored food got her through the chilly times. She also carried the impregnation from a fall mating. Now she wakes ready to start the new colony.
During the last several years, I have noted the consistency of our sightings of the first bumble bee of spring. The earliest has been April 13 while the latest was April 16. Three years in a row (2001-03), we recorded the initial sight on April 14. Large, obvious color patterns and a loud buzzing flight, their appearance is easy to observe
It is interesting to watch these early risers. They fly very low over the recently-exposed grasses of lawns and meadows. By going back and forth, they show their searching purposes. The queen is looking for just the right place to begin her new brood. Frequently, she lands to explore an open site. Once again cavities under logs, boards, rocks or piles of leaves all provide a potential home, but just as frequently, she moves on after checking it out.
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