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According to the old adage: a swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay, a swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon. So what is a swarm of bees in April worth? No, I couldn't think of a rhyme either.It can't happen very often, so I was very

There's something buzzing round the grape hyacinths. It's a fat, furry brown bee and it's being very animated. I love these insects and get a real buzz myself seeing them each year, because they're one of the true heralds of spring. Anthophora

The south-facing fence of our garden is covered all over with ivy, and the leaves are prime basking territory for all manner of insects. This last week, the solitary bees have started to reappear in droves. There are very many species all looking a

others by. They may spend the whole day in this fixed forage pattern. The plants benefit from having their pollen carried directly from male to female of the same species, without having it splashed wastefully over aliens. The bees benefit from targeting

pleasing than a plank of wood). The holes need to be at least 10 and preferably 20cm deep, with a diameter of 4-8mm. Mind you, if you live in Leicestershire, drill holes 15mm across and you might get the massive carpenter bee, Xylocopa violacea.

In the bright heat of this week's baking sunlight, a buzz of black and orange fur announces the arrival of what I think is one our cuddliest hoverflies. Merodon equestis is a large (12 - 15mm long), stout, bumblebee mimic, and although not quite

-roller caterpillar. No sign of them yet, but I'll expect them later.I can still see the results of leafcutter bee activity from last year. One was nesting in a redundant overflow pipe from the old bathroom and I regularly saw it with its green leaf curl cargo bobbing

at the honeysuckle flowers. But it took me a few days to realize the bumblebees were different. There were several species, but my eye was caught by the well-groomed buff orange ones. In the UK most of the all-orange bumbles, also sometimes called carder bees

the small golfball-sized embryo nest with its 15-20 cells in a single paper comb. After she has laid her first 15-20 eggs in these, she must forage for caterpillars, flies, aphids and other insects to feed to the grubs that hatch.This is a vulnerable time

, finding a fasciated marsh thistle, Cirsium palustre, somewhere in the flood plain of the River Cuckmere, near Alfriston, Sussex, when I was aged 12 or 13. I thought I had found some exciting new plant, or strange metamorphic phenomenon. I was amazed how