Bilberry bumblebee

A walk in the Borrowdale valley to the Friends of the Lake District wildflower meadows. In the thistles on the side of the valley we found Mountain Bumblebees!
This rather rare creature is found only on a few Northern sites, it requires both flowering bilberry and heather, and enough other wildflowers to provide nectar.
It’s a delightful bee, with a very distinctive orange red abdomen that extends nearly the whole length of the tail.
We found about ten in half an hour’s wandering so its a good colony, but you will have to hurry if you want to see them, as they will soon be going into hibernation.