"Janet" wrote
News said:
snip

It is so weird - and worrying. I've seen more bumbles than ever before
this year, but hardly any honey bees. I'm seeing my neighbour at the
weekend to talk about his hives (non-medical variety), but I think they
suffered really badly as a result of last year's summer

From the pov of eating honey that is a worry, I agree. But as honey
bees have been subjected to all kinds of disease and pest, it's sad but
not surprising that domesticating them has led to a bit of a crisis.
Wild bumble bees, otoh, are just fine, if our garden and greenhouses
are anything to go by and as they do just as good a job of pollination,
they're a welcome sight.

Only, they seem not to do as good a job of pollination. Numerous
posters have commented the same combination of unusual events in their
garden this year; hardly any honey bees; a bumble bee population
explosion, runner bean flowers failed to set.

Runner beans depend on insect pollination.



I'm not convinced of that, our beans are doing just as well this year as
they have before and the bee keeper removed his hives from our site last
autumn. It depends on the bumble species I think, if they are honey bee
sized they do as good a job if they are the huge ones then they don't
because they can't get into the flower the proper way.

On a separate note yesterday evening I came across a huge bumble, and I do
mean huge, in the flower of our hibiscus hedge on the allotment. It was
absolutely covered in pollen all over and seemed to be almost drunk, it just
kept stumbling around inside the flower.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK