Bumblebee ID

This Sunday at Foxglove Covert the Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust held a bumblebee identification and survey training session, in support of the Bilberry Bumblebee Project.

Image: catching bees

Attendees learned all about how to ID different bumblebee species, and how sometimes it can be quite tricky - the bee in the image below was either a Buff-tailed (Bombus terrestris) or White-tailed (Bombus lucorum) Bumblebee - the species couldn't be determined in the field.

Attendees also gained some survey experience, and spent some time catching bees to ID them.

This training session will help volunteers with their ID as they carry out 'bee walks', a citizen science survey established by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. In 2023 volunteers across Richmondshire carried out 35 bee walks, recording 388 bees total, and 13 different species of bumblebee.

If you would like to contribute to this project, email wildwashton@gmail.com for more information about how to volunteer.

Image: Red-tailed Bumblebee