It was one of those days when you weren't sure whether to keep a sweater on or take it off. In the sun it was warm but when the wind blew and the sun was hidden by clouds, it was surprisingly cool. These conditions are not great for butterflies as they tend to stay put on such days, and many other insects were harder to locate today.

However, bumblebee queens are really common now and they are so busy that nothing deters them. YOu may have noticed them flying slowly and low over the ground, as if patrolling, which in a sense they are. They are looking for a safe place to start their colony. Once this has been achieved, the queen must get busy provisioning it with pollen. She lays her eggs on the pollen balls and then broods them, just as a bird does. So, the two separate queen bees in these photos have obviously both found a suitable nest site and are now busy gathering pollen, one on a willow and one on a dandelion.