It’s October, and time is short for the bees in my garden. Judging by the very short period of time that the bees spend on each flower, there doesn’t seem to be much nectar left on the heads of lavender in my back garden. I planted a batch of lavender plants in a raised area at the back of the garden (it’s raised because there is a pile of builders rubble underneath). There’s just enough soil to keep the lavender going, and the rest of the area is covered with wood-chip. The flowers thrived this year (the spot is sheltered and sunny), and the bees and wasps loved the constant source of food throughout the summer. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago – since then, there is almost no lavender flowers left and only the occasionally wasp can be seen hovering about.
The bee pictured above is the Common Carder Bee (Bombus [Thoracombus] pascuorum), one of Ireland’s most common bumblebees. By the end of this month, almost all of these bees will be dead – only the queens survive. Winter is coming.