October marks a significant time of transition for wildlife, including bumblebees, as the season shifts fully into autumn. For bumblebees in particular, new queens will search for suitable places to hibernate, such as leaf litter, soil or under logs, where they will remain until spring. You can also find out what to do if you find a hibernating queen in this edition. Plus, initial results from our 2024 BeeWalk results up until August this year, suggest it is the worst year on record for bumblebees. In response, you can read more about our 'Bumblebees in Crisis' appeal.
Urgent appeal – bumblebees in crisis 🚫2024 has so far been the worst year on record for our bumblebees. This year’s wet spring and cool summer have had a massive impact on already struggling bumblebee populations. If you missed it, you can read more in our recent blog from Science Manager, Dr Richard Comont.
In response to this, we’ve launched our urgent 'Bumblebees in Crisis' appeal. Please join our fight for bumblebees today.
With your help, we can secure a future for bumblebees 💚 October 'Q&BEE' 🐝Q. We've had a bumblebee nest in a shed where we keep straw and feed for our horses. I thought it would be finished by now but, when I went to sweep and tidy up, some bumblebees came flying out so it must still be active. When can we expect it to finish?
A. Although most bumblebees will have finished nesting by now there might still be some active nests, particularly in well insulated spots where there are still plenty of flowers. Some species, such as Common carder bumblebees, typically have longer nesting cycles and can still be active in autumn. Another possibility is that this is a nest established by a new queen from this year who has decided to nest rather than enter hibernation. These nests can also be active into the autumn and even, in some locations with milder temperatures and plenty of flowers, the winter. So we can't say for sure when they will finish, but they will finish at some point. In the meantime give them a little space and yourself a break from tidying up! What to do if you find a hibernating bumblebeeThis time of year, new queen bumblebees will be searching for a cosy place to rest underground over winter. Some bumblebee queens hibernate for nine months – almost three-quarters of their life and are all potential queen bumblebees, which will hopefully go on to make nests in spring. They will dig down between 5 and 15cm, curl up and sleep in their solitary hole until spring, surviving temperatures down to -19°C!
However, people often find hibernating bumblebees in late winter or early spring, when they begin to work in their gardens again. Uncovering them can disturb them, and you might find them buzzing or shaking. If the bumblebee isn’t too active, you can cover it up again using the material that she has been hiding it. Cover the bumblebee up with the material as loosely as possible, so she can dig her way out when it is time to do so.
If the bumblebee remains very active and won’t go back into hibernation, you can help her on her way by leaving her in a sheltered place to rest, such as under some leaf-litter. Don’t be tempted to keep the bumblebee indoors, as bumblebees need to be outside to complete their lifecycle. Success at Foreness Point five years on!Between 2018-2021, the Trust led the ambitious, multi-partner, landscape-scale project ‘Making a Buzz for the Coast’.
One of the key sites that we worked on, in partnership with Thanet District Council and others, was Foreness Point grasslands. As part of the project, we developed a 10-year management plan to restore the grassland habitats on the site.
Bex Cartwright, Conservation Projects Manager (Agriculture) explains how the site is responding and providing a boost for bumblebees and other pollinators 🐝 | 
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