Bumblebee Conservation Trust
@bumblebeetrust.bsky.social
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is the only charity dedicated wholly to saving the UK's bumblebees 🐝
www.bumblebeeconservation.org
📷 Kate Jaconello
www.bumblebeeconservation.org
📷 Kate Jaconello
Different bumblebee species like to nest in different places, including long, tangled grass, bird boxes, and underground in abandoned rodent holes.
They can even nest in more creative places, like under the edge of a pond.
What is the most interesting place you have found a bumblebee nest?
They can even nest in more creative places, like under the edge of a pond.
What is the most interesting place you have found a bumblebee nest?
September 13, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Different bumblebee species like to nest in different places, including long, tangled grass, bird boxes, and underground in abandoned rodent holes.
They can even nest in more creative places, like under the edge of a pond.
What is the most interesting place you have found a bumblebee nest?
They can even nest in more creative places, like under the edge of a pond.
What is the most interesting place you have found a bumblebee nest?
In September we say goodbye to many of the UK bumblebees 💔
🍂 Old queens and their nests will naturally come to an end as summer turns into autumn.
💤 New queens will mate with males, feed heavily on pollen and nectar to create fatty stores of energy, then hibernate until the following spring.
🍂 Old queens and their nests will naturally come to an end as summer turns into autumn.
💤 New queens will mate with males, feed heavily on pollen and nectar to create fatty stores of energy, then hibernate until the following spring.
September 10, 2026 at 8:40 AM
In September we say goodbye to many of the UK bumblebees 💔
🍂 Old queens and their nests will naturally come to an end as summer turns into autumn.
💤 New queens will mate with males, feed heavily on pollen and nectar to create fatty stores of energy, then hibernate until the following spring.
🍂 Old queens and their nests will naturally come to an end as summer turns into autumn.
💤 New queens will mate with males, feed heavily on pollen and nectar to create fatty stores of energy, then hibernate until the following spring.
There's a real buzz at #WildSummit26 This is a big moment for nature and bumblebees need to be part of that story 🐝
Wildlife and Countryside Link #NatureRecovery
Wildlife and Countryside Link #NatureRecovery
September 9, 2026 at 9:19 AM
There's a real buzz at #WildSummit26 This is a big moment for nature and bumblebees need to be part of that story 🐝
Wildlife and Countryside Link #NatureRecovery
Wildlife and Countryside Link #NatureRecovery
Ivy comes alive in September. These globe-shaped flowers are a vital source of pollen and nectar when not much else is in flower 🐝🍂
For even more seasonal tips, download our gardening guides: https://ow.ly/uM3b50ZFYEp
For even more seasonal tips, download our gardening guides: https://ow.ly/uM3b50ZFYEp
September 6, 2026 at 8:10 AM
Ivy comes alive in September. These globe-shaped flowers are a vital source of pollen and nectar when not much else is in flower 🐝🍂
For even more seasonal tips, download our gardening guides: https://ow.ly/uM3b50ZFYEp
For even more seasonal tips, download our gardening guides: https://ow.ly/uM3b50ZFYEp
UK intelligence services say nature loss is a national security threat & loss of pollinators a major threat to UK food production. The Government knows it. MPs debated it in parliament yesterday. It’s time to treat the recovery of nature & climate as a whole-of-Government priority, not a side issue.
September 4, 2026 at 9:45 AM
UK intelligence services say nature loss is a national security threat & loss of pollinators a major threat to UK food production. The Government knows it. MPs debated it in parliament yesterday. It’s time to treat the recovery of nature & climate as a whole-of-Government priority, not a side issue.
September is your last chance to see many of the UK’s common bumblebees ⌛🐝
This month, many bumblebee nests will naturally come to an end and new queens will settle down to hibernate over the winter 👑💤
🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/o6B950ZClyE
This month, many bumblebee nests will naturally come to an end and new queens will settle down to hibernate over the winter 👑💤
🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/o6B950ZClyE
September 1, 2026 at 6:50 AM
September is your last chance to see many of the UK’s common bumblebees ⌛🐝
This month, many bumblebee nests will naturally come to an end and new queens will settle down to hibernate over the winter 👑💤
🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/o6B950ZClyE
This month, many bumblebee nests will naturally come to an end and new queens will settle down to hibernate over the winter 👑💤
🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/o6B950ZClyE
Have you seen a bumblebee this week? 🐝🙌
Share your bumblebee captures in the comments 📷🎥
Share your bumblebee captures in the comments 📷🎥
August 29, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Have you seen a bumblebee this week? 🐝🙌
Share your bumblebee captures in the comments 📷🎥
Share your bumblebee captures in the comments 📷🎥
Less than 2 weeks to go until Wild Summit 2026, where we’ll join forces with Rethink Nature for a game of ecosystem Jenga.
Find us on the Rethink Nature stand – if you can’t come in person, online tickets are also available.
Find us on the Rethink Nature stand – if you can’t come in person, online tickets are also available.
August 28, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Less than 2 weeks to go until Wild Summit 2026, where we’ll join forces with Rethink Nature for a game of ecosystem Jenga.
Find us on the Rethink Nature stand – if you can’t come in person, online tickets are also available.
Find us on the Rethink Nature stand – if you can’t come in person, online tickets are also available.
Join these cuckoo bumblebees for a thistle picnic🧺
🐦Six of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species are cuckoo bumblebees. Instead of building nests, females take over those of other bumblebees and rely on them to raise their young.
⚠️Important pollinators, they are not a major threat to bumblebee populations.
🐦Six of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species are cuckoo bumblebees. Instead of building nests, females take over those of other bumblebees and rely on them to raise their young.
⚠️Important pollinators, they are not a major threat to bumblebee populations.
August 27, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Join these cuckoo bumblebees for a thistle picnic🧺
🐦Six of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species are cuckoo bumblebees. Instead of building nests, females take over those of other bumblebees and rely on them to raise their young.
⚠️Important pollinators, they are not a major threat to bumblebee populations.
🐦Six of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species are cuckoo bumblebees. Instead of building nests, females take over those of other bumblebees and rely on them to raise their young.
⚠️Important pollinators, they are not a major threat to bumblebee populations.
“Buzz off, that’s my flower!” the bumble grumbled before launching into a rumble-tumble 🐝
Misunderstanding? More like misunder-landing 💛
Misunderstanding? More like misunder-landing 💛
August 20, 2026 at 4:40 PM
“Buzz off, that’s my flower!” the bumble grumbled before launching into a rumble-tumble 🐝
Misunderstanding? More like misunder-landing 💛
Misunderstanding? More like misunder-landing 💛
📣 Calling all photographers 📸
Share your bumblebee photos for a chance to feature in our 2027 Bumblebee Calendar! 📅
Submit your best bumblebee photos on our website by midnight 31 August: https://ow.ly/Jp4U50ZAVOI
#WorldPhotographyDay
Share your bumblebee photos for a chance to feature in our 2027 Bumblebee Calendar! 📅
Submit your best bumblebee photos on our website by midnight 31 August: https://ow.ly/Jp4U50ZAVOI
#WorldPhotographyDay
August 19, 2026 at 7:20 AM
📣 Calling all photographers 📸
Share your bumblebee photos for a chance to feature in our 2027 Bumblebee Calendar! 📅
Submit your best bumblebee photos on our website by midnight 31 August: https://ow.ly/Jp4U50ZAVOI
#WorldPhotographyDay
Share your bumblebee photos for a chance to feature in our 2027 Bumblebee Calendar! 📅
Submit your best bumblebee photos on our website by midnight 31 August: https://ow.ly/Jp4U50ZAVOI
#WorldPhotographyDay
Hmmm that's odd. Why is this bumblebee so pale? 🤔
The answer may just surprise you! Have you seen a bumblebee like this before?
🎥 Peter Spring
The answer may just surprise you! Have you seen a bumblebee like this before?
🎥 Peter Spring
August 18, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Hmmm that's odd. Why is this bumblebee so pale? 🤔
The answer may just surprise you! Have you seen a bumblebee like this before?
🎥 Peter Spring
The answer may just surprise you! Have you seen a bumblebee like this before?
🎥 Peter Spring
Sundays are slowww days 🐝
What bumblebees have you spotted recently? 👀
What bumblebees have you spotted recently? 👀
August 16, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Sundays are slowww days 🐝
What bumblebees have you spotted recently? 👀
What bumblebees have you spotted recently? 👀
Help us caption this photo 🐝
This Buff-tailed bumblebee fast asleep in a flower is the insect equivalent of staying in bed on a Saturday morning 🩷
📷 Michaela Flint
This Buff-tailed bumblebee fast asleep in a flower is the insect equivalent of staying in bed on a Saturday morning 🩷
📷 Michaela Flint
August 15, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Help us caption this photo 🐝
This Buff-tailed bumblebee fast asleep in a flower is the insect equivalent of staying in bed on a Saturday morning 🩷
📷 Michaela Flint
This Buff-tailed bumblebee fast asleep in a flower is the insect equivalent of staying in bed on a Saturday morning 🩷
📷 Michaela Flint
Shhh! Bumblebees are sleeping. Quietly scroll on without waking them. They need their bee-uty sleep. What do you think they’re dreaming about? 🐝💤
August 13, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Shhh! Bumblebees are sleeping. Quietly scroll on without waking them. They need their bee-uty sleep. What do you think they’re dreaming about? 🐝💤
Hands up if you saw a bumblebee this weekend 🙌
Share your bumblebee captures in the comments 📷🎥
Share your bumblebee captures in the comments 📷🎥
August 10, 2026 at 6:50 AM
Hands up if you saw a bumblebee this weekend 🙌
Share your bumblebee captures in the comments 📷🎥
Share your bumblebee captures in the comments 📷🎥
You're donation is helping to create and restore flower-rich habitats, inspire communities to take action, and give bumblebees the best chance to thrive into the future.
From all of us, and on behalf of the bumblebees, thank you 💛🐝
There's still time to donate: https://ow.ly/O4Qn50ZwUih
From all of us, and on behalf of the bumblebees, thank you 💛🐝
There's still time to donate: https://ow.ly/O4Qn50ZwUih
August 7, 2026 at 9:20 AM
You're donation is helping to create and restore flower-rich habitats, inspire communities to take action, and give bumblebees the best chance to thrive into the future.
From all of us, and on behalf of the bumblebees, thank you 💛🐝
There's still time to donate: https://ow.ly/O4Qn50ZwUih
From all of us, and on behalf of the bumblebees, thank you 💛🐝
There's still time to donate: https://ow.ly/O4Qn50ZwUih
In August, the Big Eight UK bumblebees are joined by our rare and less common species 💛
👑💼 For most species, queens and their worker daughters will be joined by new males.
🚹 Some males will seek out new queens from other nests to mate with.
What bumblebees have you spotted recently?
👑💼 For most species, queens and their worker daughters will be joined by new males.
🚹 Some males will seek out new queens from other nests to mate with.
What bumblebees have you spotted recently?
August 6, 2026 at 7:40 AM
In August, the Big Eight UK bumblebees are joined by our rare and less common species 💛
👑💼 For most species, queens and their worker daughters will be joined by new males.
🚹 Some males will seek out new queens from other nests to mate with.
What bumblebees have you spotted recently?
👑💼 For most species, queens and their worker daughters will be joined by new males.
🚹 Some males will seek out new queens from other nests to mate with.
What bumblebees have you spotted recently?
Most of the UK is farmland – and bumblebees are struggling to find enough food on it 🐝🍽️
New research from 20 English farms shows that pollen and nectar levels are far too low for bumblebees to thrive.
Leo Fordham and Prof Elli Leadbeater tell us more in our guest blog: https://ow.ly/2coK50Zu6xA
New research from 20 English farms shows that pollen and nectar levels are far too low for bumblebees to thrive.
Leo Fordham and Prof Elli Leadbeater tell us more in our guest blog: https://ow.ly/2coK50Zu6xA
August 5, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Most of the UK is farmland – and bumblebees are struggling to find enough food on it 🐝🍽️
New research from 20 English farms shows that pollen and nectar levels are far too low for bumblebees to thrive.
Leo Fordham and Prof Elli Leadbeater tell us more in our guest blog: https://ow.ly/2coK50Zu6xA
New research from 20 English farms shows that pollen and nectar levels are far too low for bumblebees to thrive.
Leo Fordham and Prof Elli Leadbeater tell us more in our guest blog: https://ow.ly/2coK50Zu6xA
Most people think these Red-tailed bumblebees are fighting. What are they really doing?
They're actually mating!
⏰Mating can last for up to an hour.
⚠️Never try to separate mating bumblebees as this can harm them.
🔒Once mating is finished, they will eventually fly off and go their separate ways.
They're actually mating!
⏰Mating can last for up to an hour.
⚠️Never try to separate mating bumblebees as this can harm them.
🔒Once mating is finished, they will eventually fly off and go their separate ways.
August 4, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Most people think these Red-tailed bumblebees are fighting. What are they really doing?
They're actually mating!
⏰Mating can last for up to an hour.
⚠️Never try to separate mating bumblebees as this can harm them.
🔒Once mating is finished, they will eventually fly off and go their separate ways.
They're actually mating!
⏰Mating can last for up to an hour.
⚠️Never try to separate mating bumblebees as this can harm them.
🔒Once mating is finished, they will eventually fly off and go their separate ways.
After 10 years as the Species Champion for the Ruderal bumblebee, Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner has finally seen one in the wild 🐝🎉
Visiting RSPB Hope Farm with our CEO Dr Andrew Impey, he saw first-hand how nature-friendly farming is helping rare bumblebees to recover.
#ConservationWorks
Visiting RSPB Hope Farm with our CEO Dr Andrew Impey, he saw first-hand how nature-friendly farming is helping rare bumblebees to recover.
#ConservationWorks
August 3, 2026 at 4:40 PM
After 10 years as the Species Champion for the Ruderal bumblebee, Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner has finally seen one in the wild 🐝🎉
Visiting RSPB Hope Farm with our CEO Dr Andrew Impey, he saw first-hand how nature-friendly farming is helping rare bumblebees to recover.
#ConservationWorks
Visiting RSPB Hope Farm with our CEO Dr Andrew Impey, he saw first-hand how nature-friendly farming is helping rare bumblebees to recover.
#ConservationWorks
August is your last chance to see all of the Big Eight bumblebees 🎱🐝
Of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species, these eight are the most common.
Have you spotted any bumblebees recently? How many species have you seen?
🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/11BQ50ZoP6O
Of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species, these eight are the most common.
Have you spotted any bumblebees recently? How many species have you seen?
🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/11BQ50ZoP6O
August 1, 2026 at 7:10 AM
August is your last chance to see all of the Big Eight bumblebees 🎱🐝
Of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species, these eight are the most common.
Have you spotted any bumblebees recently? How many species have you seen?
🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/11BQ50ZoP6O
Of the UK’s 24 bumblebee species, these eight are the most common.
Have you spotted any bumblebees recently? How many species have you seen?
🔎 Brush up on your bumblebee identification skills: https://ow.ly/11BQ50ZoP6O
Donate to our appeal today to help put flower-rich meadows back on the map. Together, we can bring bumblebees back into our communities.
Bee the difference: https://ow.ly/o9mN50Zu8na
Already donated? Please share this post and spread the word 💛
Bee the difference: https://ow.ly/o9mN50Zu8na
Already donated? Please share this post and spread the word 💛
July 29, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Donate to our appeal today to help put flower-rich meadows back on the map. Together, we can bring bumblebees back into our communities.
Bee the difference: https://ow.ly/o9mN50Zu8na
Already donated? Please share this post and spread the word 💛
Bee the difference: https://ow.ly/o9mN50Zu8na
Already donated? Please share this post and spread the word 💛
How to tell the difference between young and old bumblebees 🐝
Old bumblebees have:
☀️ Faded fur colouring from time in the sun.
⚫ A bald spot, especially on top of the middle, where hairs have rubbed off.
〰️ Uneven wing edges.
These are signs of everyday wear and tear, not just age-related issues 🪧
Old bumblebees have:
☀️ Faded fur colouring from time in the sun.
⚫ A bald spot, especially on top of the middle, where hairs have rubbed off.
〰️ Uneven wing edges.
These are signs of everyday wear and tear, not just age-related issues 🪧
July 28, 2026 at 6:10 PM
How to tell the difference between young and old bumblebees 🐝
Old bumblebees have:
☀️ Faded fur colouring from time in the sun.
⚫ A bald spot, especially on top of the middle, where hairs have rubbed off.
〰️ Uneven wing edges.
These are signs of everyday wear and tear, not just age-related issues 🪧
Old bumblebees have:
☀️ Faded fur colouring from time in the sun.
⚫ A bald spot, especially on top of the middle, where hairs have rubbed off.
〰️ Uneven wing edges.
These are signs of everyday wear and tear, not just age-related issues 🪧
Two Orkney nature reserves have been recognised for their vital role in protecting the Great Yellow bumblebee 💛
Liam McArthur MSP recently joined the Trust and RSPB Scotland in search of this rare bumblebee. Read the story: https://ow.ly/E81X50ZrYME
RSPB Scotland Nature Champions Liam McArthur
Liam McArthur MSP recently joined the Trust and RSPB Scotland in search of this rare bumblebee. Read the story: https://ow.ly/E81X50ZrYME
RSPB Scotland Nature Champions Liam McArthur
July 25, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Two Orkney nature reserves have been recognised for their vital role in protecting the Great Yellow bumblebee 💛
Liam McArthur MSP recently joined the Trust and RSPB Scotland in search of this rare bumblebee. Read the story: https://ow.ly/E81X50ZrYME
RSPB Scotland Nature Champions Liam McArthur
Liam McArthur MSP recently joined the Trust and RSPB Scotland in search of this rare bumblebee. Read the story: https://ow.ly/E81X50ZrYME
RSPB Scotland Nature Champions Liam McArthur