Just a very short post for now because I really want to share this! A few days ago, I was lucky enough to capture a vid of this stunning garden bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) who landed on one of the stone walls in my orchard and spent a little while grooming herself. You can see how she's using her legs to brush off any pollen that's stuck to her fur into the pollen baskets on her back legs, and she shakes herself down as well (she looks a bit like she’s twerking, haha). Notice how she holds onto the leaf with her front left leg while she uses the other five. I was in raptures!
I’ve seen absolutely loads of garden bumblebees in the orchard this year - anecdotally, they seem to be doing great, so I’ll be really interested to learn later in the year or next year whether 2025 really was an excellent year for them in Britain.
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