Richard Bell's Wild West Yorkshire nature diary

2 bees or not 2 bees

drone-flyFriday, 13th April, 2007
drone-flyA DRONE-FLY crawls lugubriously on the window. Later I see it trudging across the carpet and I coax it into a bowl and release it outside. I know that it can’t sting me but the resemblance to a bee is enough for me to feel that I should handle it with care.


Top Hat

bumblebeeblueberry blossomA large bumble-bee is visiting the flowers of our Top Hat patio blueberries. You need more than one plant to ensure pollination (and a bee, of course).

This is a new venture for us; we’ve bought a bag of ericaceous compost to pot them up in. We’re not in a limestone area but, even so, I think that our soil wouldn’t be acidic enough for them.