For the weekend, meteorologists are predicting temperatures of up to 19 degrees in some regions. For hobby gardeners, that means: off to the garden!

Leaves that have been left lying around over the winter should be raked away, the soil loosened and dug up, and the first flowers planted. But be careful: despite all the enthusiasm, you have to be careful: the new generation of bumblebee queens is now waking up from hibernation and taking their first flights of the year.

Be careful when doing your first garden work: the new bumblebee queens are on the move

Bumblebees are among the first pollinators of the year and fly at temperatures as low as two degrees Celsius. With their tiny muscles in their chests, they generate heat by shivering and thus reach a body temperature of over 30 degrees.

The dark earth bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), the tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) and the meadow bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) are among the first species to crawl out of their winter quarters. There is a great risk of fatally injuring one of the queens in the bed with a pickaxe, flower claw or spade.

But they only want one thing: to establish a new bumblebee colony. They have been holding out in their winter quarters for half a year, and now they need to quickly recharge their batteries - in the form of sweet nectar, which they suck with their proboscis from early bloomers such as wild crocus, daffodils or goat willow. Gardeners who do not yet have early blooming plants in their garden and want to help bumblebees should now plant grape hyacinths, snowdrops or pasqueflowers in addition to crocuses. Wild perennials such as hellebore, coltsfoot and shepherd's purse provide bumblebees with vital pollen and nectar early in the year.

In addition to searching for food, the queens have another strenuous task: searching for nests. Most bumblebee species look for hollow spaces in the ground or use abandoned mouse holes to lay their eggs. Some hide their nests under thick cushions of moss. Tree bumblebees nest above ground in old bird nests, nesting boxes or cracks in walls.

The first workers hatch from the eggs that the bumblebees lay from spring onwards after three weeks. From this point onwards, the queen no longer flies out herself. Depending on the species, both young queens and drones hatch from May to August, whose job it is to fertilize the young queens. The new colony can consist of up to 600 bumblebees.

And what do the early starters do if it freezes again after the pre-spring temperatures? "As long as bumblebees keep getting food, they should survive the cold phase," says Christian Lichtenau, species conservationist at the German Wildlife Foundation. They also need shelter. A garden that is as close to nature and diverse as possible offers the bumblebees a good chance of finding protection and food.

Jenifer Calvi Press Officer
German Wildlife Foundation
Lucy-Borchardt-Straße 2
20457 Hamburg
Telephone 040/ 9707869-14
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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