UK Nature and Environment

The Bumbles on Blooms project, which ran between February and May this year, invited members of the public to observe bumblebee sightings on flowers in gardens and parks across the UK, and record their findings and photographs. The aim of the project was to find out which plants bumblebees rely on most heavily at a critical time in the year as they establish their colonies.

Over a thousand records from the public included at least 10 species of bumblebees and almost 350 different plants. The top three most sighted bumblebees that were identified to species were Early, Buff-tail and Common Carder.

The results indicate that of all colours, white-petalled flowers received more visits than any other from these vital pollinators. White was closely followed by purple and pink, which was reflected in the fact that the top five reported plants in the project included comfrey, crocuses, chives and heather. All five are popular with gardeners and offer reliable flowering from early to late spring.