I found the first Andrena fulva – tawny mining bee – whilst weeding the garden today. This is a solitary bee which nests underground, building a volcano-like mound of soil around the entrance to its burrow. They generally emerge in April, so this one is a few weeks early.

The tawny mining bee, Andrena fulva

I also found a queen wasp and two honey bees emerging from hibernation in our conservatory, where they have spent the winter.

Spring is definitely in the air; tomorrow is the Spring Equinox so we can look forward to longer days and next weekend 26 March, we move on to British Summer Time when the clocks go forward an hour.

Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

© 2017 Lavender Hedge