![]() ![]() mahonia, hellebores and Lonicera fragrantissima Have plants in your garden that offer winter nectar – e.g.Avoid disturbing these spots throughout winter Create leaf and log piles for bees to shelter in.Be very wary if you are doing any house renovations at this time, in case you disturb a winter nest. If you have a bee or bug house, ensure it is positioned in a sheltered spot where frosts are unlikely to be a problem. The best way to support bees during the winter months is to have plants in your garden that are a source of winter nectar mahonia, Erica carnea (winter heather), Hedera helix (common ivy), hellebores and Lonicera fragrantissima (winter honeysuckle) for example. ![]() These adults wait in a state of torpor until the spring. In some cases, it will be during winter that they grow from eggs into adult bees. Ahead of this, the eggs are usually left carefully in a nest (depending on the species). Solitary beesįor the many species of solitary bee, the adults die before winter. In warmer parts of the country, they sometimes create new nests instead of hibernating – for this reason, it is entirely possible to spot a bumblebee during the winter months. Queen bumblebees, who will have mated in summer or autumn, will hibernate by creating a burrow in the earth or under piles of logs. Worker bees, males and old queen bees simply die before the cold sets in. With bumblebees, only the queen bee survives the winter. The colony’s store of honey is their source of survival and, on warmer winter days, they will make brief trips out to seek fresh sources of nectar. Honeybees are unique, as they are the only bee species to keep the entire colony over winter, huddling together with the queen at the centre for survival. While bees are spotted relatively rarely in the winter, different bee species have developed very different approaches to survival. We look at the autumn-winter habits of some of our best-loved UK wildlife and what we can do in our own gardens to support them. Some species do hibernate and some enter more of a temporary torpor – short periods of slowing down throughout the colder months. A number of flying animals migrate, finding a warmer home for the winter. There are actually a number of ways our UK species protect themselves during winter. A cosy family curled up in a burrow, or bears in a cave, peacefully slumbering all the way through until the soft warmth of spring encourages them to emerge. When we think of animals during winter, the image that comes to mind is probably hibernating animals. ![]()
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