Shieldbugs feed by sucking the sap out of a wide variety of deciduous trees and shrubs. Queen bumble bee Look out in March for large bumble bees flying low over the ground, investigating small holes in the ground. They are queen bees looking for nest sites. There are about 19 species of bumble bee in Britain, all belonging to the genus Bombus. Like other bees and wasps, the bumble bee has a sting, but it is less likely to use it than are the smaller species.
Bumble bees are social insects and live in colonies.
Nearly all the bees in the colony die with the start of cold winter weather. Only the young queen bees survive and hibernate through the winter to start new colonies the following year. In March or April the queen emerges from hibernation and looks for a nest site, usually in the ground in an empty mouse or vole hole. She makes a hollow ball-shaped nest out of grass and moss, with a wax cell inside in which she lays her eggs. She tends the eggs and feeds the larvae with pollen and honey.