Posted 3 days ago

No bees and Butterflies

Plenty of full bloom daffodils and few tulips in my garden for about 2 weeks running, but havent spotted any Bees or a single butterfly yet. I dont use any pesticides or herbicides or weedkillers.

Could it be because of the funny weather? (The wettest and longest wet spell I have ever come across).

Any ideas?

New Comment

15 Comments

sorted by

18th Mar
Yorkshire Bees and Butterflies have a bit more sense . Never cast a clout till May's gone out !

Not expecting it this year but had snow in June in my younger years .
18th Mar
Yep haven't seen any about. I remember when I was a lad you used to see a lot of earwigs & caterpillar's too, it's like they don't exist in this country nowadays!
18th Mar
You mean the longest and wettest march you've seen or longest wettest ever including all months ?
Its been raining a bit every day but nothing unusual, at least where i live (edited)
Author
18th Mar
October onwards has been the wettest I have ever experienced. The final leaves on the Apple tree didnt shed till mid December, and only after the first frost.
In London.
Normally, I see some buzz of bumble bees (they are the first out) but none this time yet.
I guess, as a result, less birds and fledglings for lack of food for chicks.
19th Mar
Doesn't seem any wetter than normal in the west midlands, i do deliveries for work and i can only recall a few days getting soaked in the last few months, the others have just been the usual spitting here and there each day but its pretty normal, maybe its normally dryer down south than up here.
Anyway I'll never complain about the amount of rain we get after choosing an unlucky week in menorca, never seen rain like it.
I did see a few huge bumble bees a week or two ago, cant remember when now but i remember dodging them as they were huge (edited)
18th Mar
No I don't think so. Where do you live. We are in Cornwall and have had bees, wasps and cabbage butterflies.
18th Mar
Same, in Cornwall and loads of bugs have started to come out
18th Mar
I think any bees & butterflies that have dared to venture out already probably suffered the insect equivalent of Icarus
19th Mar
There is bee hives on our allotments, they are starting to come out. After speaking to the hive group they only actively fly above 10 degrees. Has been to wet and cold, i would think the same about butterflys.
Think that a few hives in the area has died due to the excess wet (could be due to the type of hives?)
19th Mar
I have not seen any butterflies yet but did see a bumblebee yesterday.
19th Mar
Still a bit cold and wet. First warm day and they'll be everywhere.
19th Mar
Yeah, bit early still I think.

Also at the start of the year, numbers of everything are low. Only queen bumble bees survive to hibernate, so colonies are started from scratch each year and a lot of butterflies either overwinter as Caterpillars, or migrate here later in the year.

It take multiple broods and generations to build numbers up to what you see in summer.
22 h, 35 m ago
I’m in Lancashire and saw my first bumblebee and honey bee on Monday.
2 m ago
Tons of bees around the plum tree today.. must be venturing out of the ground by now surely