"Sacha" wrote in message
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On 2013-01-04 14:40:32 +0000, Ophelia said:

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
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Whether bumbles are susceptible to such diseases, I don't know, but
personally I wouldn't want to take the risk. If you must feed them,
stick to sugar syrup or even better, diluted Golden Syrup, as much of
the sucrose has already been converted to glucose and fructose.

Is it a good idea to put out feed like that, or leave them to their own
resources?
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There's a fair amount around for them now, which is why they come out to
forage. It's also why so many winter flowering plants smell so sweetly,
btw. That attracts insects when there aren't too many about and there's
competition among plants for pollination. If you look at the recent lists
of plants flowering in many gardens now, you'll see there are quite a few
food sources. For example, on a decent day weather-wise, we often see
bumble bees on the Lonicera purpusii beside our front door. Honeybees are
much more rarely seen.

I haven't seen bees for ages here, perhaps we will do better down in
England
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