This warm weather has drawn out queen bumblebees that have survived the winter, hibernating in underground burrows. Warm calm days like today are perfect for them to feed and to search out nest sites. The difficulty is finding suitable nectar sources this early in the year. At Tilgate Park the bees were clustered around the heather and a Pieris (probably) japonica. Pieris is a member of the heather family, and the relationship can be seen in the flower shape.
There were probably half a dozen bees, all large females buzzing around this Pieris, which would clearly be a useful shrub to have in a wildlife garden for it's early nectar. Several rested on the ground for a few minutes before resuming their flight.
I think all the bees I saw were female buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), one of the most common species. They have the two yellow/gold stripes, one on the thorax (chest), and one on the abdomen. The tail was a dirty white, with a distinct band of buff hairs between the black and white hairs.
Here is a bee is on the heather Erica carnea, the winter flowering heather, another good garden plant, and a heather that can cope with more alkaline conditions than other ericas, and thus don't need ericaceous compost made from peat dredged from a wildlife-rich bog.
Let me know of any bumblbee sightings - photos if possible.
Other spring flowering plants good for bumblebees include: rosemary, pulmonaria (the blue ones are best), bugle, cowslips, broom, dead-nettles,flowering currant and the related black and red currants, apple and gooseberry,
If you want to know more about bumblebees, take a look at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website: http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/index.htm
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