Bumbling about

This common little bumblebee – the smallest species in the British Isles – does what it says on the tin. It not only emerges early, but also starts nesting early. At first, you see only queens, then only female workers, and finally, from mid-April, you start seeing males, too. All have distinctive orange tails, while the males also have a lemon-yellow ‘cummerbund’ across the abdomen and luxuriant yellow facial hair. In Dancing with Bees, Brigit Strawbridge Howard observes that males are “small, rotund and kind of scruffy”, compared to females, yet “ridiculously cute”.

FIND OUT MORE Our guide to spring bees: discoverwildlife.com/spring-bees