Latest news with #bumblebees
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Bumblebees and boating: Enjoy these photos from around New Brunswick
Social Sharing This week's Your Lens is filled with plenty of sunset and sunrise views and a few bumblebees, too. If you snap any nice shots, be sure to send them to us at cbcnb@ for a chance to be featured in next week's edition, but don't forget to include your name and the location where the photo was taken. Send us your photos or videos by email to cbcnb@ and put the words Your Lens in the subject line. Please tell us your name and where the photo or video was taken — we won't be able to use the submission otherwise. Keep in mind this feature is all about New Brunswick, so photos have to be of subjects in this province. Please provide a description that tells us what's happening in your submission and feel free to add any other information that would help us tell the audience about your photo or video. If we don't use your photo in the Your Lens closest to when you sent it, it could be used in a future edition as we are experiencing a high volume of submissions. We don't publish black-and-white photos or heavily edited photos, such as anything over-saturated or with filters. Watermarks will be cropped out. We'll share the photos and videos here and we might use them on our other platforms, such as our suppertime TV newscast. We'll be sure to give you credit.
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Prestwich care home staff have a ‘buzzy' time on charity walk for residents
Dozens of workers from a care home in Prestwich has a 'buzzy' time last week as they completed a gruelling charity walk dressed as bumble bees. The workers, who had completed the journey from Nazareth House in Prestwich to Bolton Town Hall in just five hours, carried out the journey to raise money for a rented minibus for the home's residents. READ MORE: Charities can apply for grants of £10,000 to help communities Bolton's new charity canopy was going up in Victoria Square Bolton fundraisers doing their bit for charity in 1989 Cheryl Tynan, who is a carer at Nazereth House, said: 'The day has been absolutely amazing, the residents came out to support us and see us off. 'To see their faces was really special, we weren't given a target financially but we were hoping to raise around one thousand pounds.' Those interested in donating can still do so via the fundraiser link. Heather Willis, activities coordinator at Nazareth House, added: 'We're hoping that the minibus will increase the wellbeing of our residents, we can rent it out for days out to Blackpool. 'We have raised money previously to do up the unit, so the lounge has been refurbished and we have a television installed in there. We want to thank everyone who has supported this wonderful cause.'
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Experts warn of heatwave stress on wildlife
An environmental expert has warned that the third predicted heatwave across the country will add stress to animals, plans and inspects. Temperatures are set to reach highs of 34C on Friday and possibly Saturday with the sweltering temperatures continuing into early next week. Dr Kevin Collins, a senior lecturer of environment and systems at the Milton Keynes-based Open University, said wildlife felt "stressed by heat that changed their behaviour on a daily basis - they need to seek shade.. and better access to water and food. "Birds, in really hot weather, will fly less, which means they're not accessing food, not hydrating properly, which weakens them and causes disease and mortality." Dr Collins said said some species, like ants, thrived in the warm weather and then became a good food source for woodpeckers. But to help species thrive, he said, "we must make sure we have space and pathways for animals and species to move through so they can find their own niches that suit them." He said bumble bees will fly less and even if they "get to plants, the plants will also be under stress and may not be producing as much nectar, so when the bumble bee arrives its food source may not be available". Food being produced early, due to climate change, could also impact endangered species like dormice, he said, who reply on certain foods like tree nuts and berries to eat in autumn. They would otherwise go into winter in ill health, impacting on the population for the "following years". Matt Jackson, conservation director at the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust, said there were both short and long term impacts of the heat on wildlife. "The short term impacts are we can see things happening so much earlier in the year – things are happening 10 or 15 days earlier than we would have expected even only 20 years ago," he said. "Things like bird breeding, insects emerging, even the flowers emerging in the woodlands are starting to happen a good few weeks earlier than they used to. "We're getting new species moving into the area, coming from the south east." With more animals "out of sync", he added, some birds did not have the right amount of food to feed their young. "We think drought is now the biggest threat to nature reserve management across the country," Mr Jackson said. "It is changing the way our nature reserves work and we're having to try and work out how to adapt to that." He said at the Summer Leys Nature Reserve, in Northamptonshire, glossy ibis and egrets have been seen. "They were something you would go abroad [to see] when I was a kid," he said. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Heatwave to peak this weekend as temperatures soar to 34C Will there be a drought where I live? How unusual is this UK heat and is climate change to blame?
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Experts warn of heatwave stress on wildlife
An environmental expert has warned that the third predicted heatwave across the country will add stress to animals, plans and inspects. Temperatures are set to reach highs of 34C on Friday and possibly Saturday with the sweltering temperatures continuing into early next Kevin Collins, a senior lecturer of environment and systems at the Milton Keynes-based Open University, said wildlife felt "stressed by heat that changed their behaviour on a daily basis - they need to seek shade.. and better access to water and food. "Birds, in really hot weather, will fly less, which means they're not accessing food, not hydrating properly, which weakens them and causes disease and mortality." Dr Collins said said some species, like ants, thrived in the warm weather and then became a good food source for woodpeckers. But to help species thrive, he said, "we must make sure we have space and pathways for animals and species to move through so they can find their own niches that suit them." He said bumble bees will fly less and even if they "get to plants, the plants will also be under stress and may not be producing as much nectar, so when the bumble bee arrives its food source may not be available".Food being produced early, due to climate change, could also impact endangered species like dormice, he said, who reply on certain foods like tree nuts and berries to eat in autumn. They would otherwise go into winter in ill health, impacting on the population for the "following years". Matt Jackson, conservation director at the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust, said there were both short and long term impacts of the heat on wildlife."The short term impacts are we can see things happening so much earlier in the year – things are happening 10 or 15 days earlier than we would have expected even only 20 years ago," he said."Things like bird breeding, insects emerging, even the flowers emerging in the woodlands are starting to happen a good few weeks earlier than they used to. "We're getting new species moving into the area, coming from the south east." With more animals "out of sync", he added, some birds did not have the right amount of food to feed their young. "We think drought is now the biggest threat to nature reserve management across the country," Mr Jackson said."It is changing the way our nature reserves work and we're having to try and work out how to adapt to that."He said at the Summer Leys Nature Reserve, in Northamptonshire, glossy ibis and egrets have been seen."They were something you would go abroad [to see] when I was a kid," he said. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- General
- Telegraph
10 of the best droughtproof plants
The past few weeks have been a bit of a learning curve, because we've had an extremely dry spring followed by the warmest, driest June since 1976. It's both impossible, and irresponsible, to water the entire garden, so I've concentrated on the containers, the greenhouses and any new additions showing signs of distress. Everything else is taking its chance. My phloxes have flagged, my Veronicastrums look miserably hunched and my monardas aren't going to flower for me this year. However, there are positives too. Certain plants have gloried in the dry heat and they're keeping my garden going. Given that drought and heat are likely to arrive more often, I'll be planting more of the following drought-busters. Eryngiums, or sea hollies The sea hollies have been my star performers and Eryngium x zabelii 'Big Blue' is the best of the lot. The blue-rinsed sea-green elongated thimbles are supported by a ring of feathery bracts in aquamarine and the stiff stems have a steely sheen, so this is an architectural plant with presence. The supporting foliage is jagged and marbled. One plant has produced a hundred or so stems, each topped with a splayed arrangement containing three to five pollinator-friendly flowers. With no rain, the bracts and flowers have kept their metallic sparkle and I've watched several butterflies, including a marbled white, gathering nectar. Hundreds of bumblebees have been drooling over them too. 'Big Blue' is a micro-propagated hybrid, so seedlings don't come true to type. Here, it domineers a pallid-yellow anthemis, 'Sauce Hollandaise', and that's also enjoying the heat. Eryngium bourgatii is self-seedling in nooks and crannies nearby and this one has silvered evergreen foliage. Hylotelephiums, or sedums Sedums have succulent leaves that store water, so once established, they perform brilliantly in dry summers. The darker the foliage, the better for me, because they light up silvery planting. 'José Aubergine', named after Flemish nurseryman José De Buck, smoulders from the off. The aubergine-black foliage and upright stems are topped with domed heads of red-pink flowers that fade to chocolate-brown as autumn descends. I also rate Ernst Pagels's 'Karfunkelstein', which is more smoky rhubarb, and the stately 'Matrona'. The latter produces pigeon-breast foliage that shimmers between pink and grey. None flag, however hot the weather. Hemerocallis, or daylilies These have Asian heritage and they love the warmth and heat, even when it's humid. They are mega-hardy too, so they are grown all over the world. Admittedly, they sometimes sulk in dull summers in my high-altitude garden, but this year they've been worth their weight in gold. There are thousands on offer, but I am going to extol the virtues of two elegant British-bred daylilies from the 1960s, because I'm not keen on the thicker-petalled bicoloured American ones. The readily available lucid-yellow 'Whichford' has a cool hint of green in each flower. 'Red Precious' (sold by Norwell Nurseries) is a later tomato-red, a colour that flatters the mid-green strappy foliage. I like the oranges too: 'Flasher', 'Mauna Loa' and 'Primal Scream' are being framed by a pale-blue catmint and scabious, and they're all basking in the heat. You will need to remove the unsightly spent flowers, but the strappy foliage will march on. Mallows, including malvas and altheas Many years ago, staff at Cambridge's Botanic Garden did a bee count and discovered that Malva moschata was the number-one choice. Mine self-seeds (which I don't mind) and most have a cluster of silky white saucers, softened by a pink style, above highly divided green foliage that avoids transpiration. This is native to southern England, but it's also found in a wide area of Asia and Europe. I also grow the willowy light-pink Althaea armeniaca for its August flowers. Stipa gigantea – the golden oat grass One of the very few tall grasses to perform early in the year, this is indispensable in sunny borders because it produces a multitude of upright stems topped with shimmering golden heads. It loves the heat and I've found it long-lived. Here, it rises to 5ft or more, hovering above an excellent rose for poorer soil, 'Bonica', which was raised in southern France. My ramrod-straight spires of pink chicory (Cichorium intybus f. roseum), their neat daisies held on 45-degree-angled stems, are nearly as tall as the stipa this year. One note of caution though: stipas hate being divided or moved. Origanum, or marjoram Aromatic plants produce their own oily sunscreen and their flowers produce highly concentrated nectar, so they are all butterfly magnets. Origanum laevigatum 'Herrenhausen' has delicate heads of small pink flowers, held in almost purple calices, and they bob above a mat of dark-green foliage. Origanum laevigatum is native to Cyprus, Syria and Turkey, so it's more than capable of taking the heat. Thymes and all origanums are equally good at soaking up the sun in garden hotspots, without wilting. Penstemons These North American plants are bred from species used to being baked in the wild and they come into their own as the days shorten, because they're native to areas close to the equator, where days and nights are evenly balanced. The wine-red ' Andenken an Friedrich Hahn ' has slender trumpets and fine foliage and it's one of the hardiest and showiest, flowering right up until November if deadheaded. 'Sour Grapes', a dusky purple, is almost luminous in the evening light here. 'Blackbird' and 'Czar' are darker options. Go for fully grown plants at this time of year; try Hayloft ( Asters Italian asters, named forms of Aster amellus, have long-lashed petals, so they're perfect for the front of a sunny border. 'Veilchenkönigin', which translates as 'Violet Queen', is the darkest of all. 'King George' is a lighter violet-purple and both are really good AGM (RHS Award of Garden Merit) plants. The best drought-busting aster of all is a vigorous Swiss hybrid from the 1920s, named A x frikartii ' Mönch'. It swoons a little, reaching between 2ft and 3ft, and flowers for at least two months, and the foliage stays looking good too. Phlomis These Mediterranean plants have strong square-sided stems decorated with rounded whorls of lipped flowers. The flowers are adored by bumblebees and, after pollination, good seedheads endure until winter. Hibernating insects find the nooks and crannies very useful over winter. Phlomis italica, the pink-flowered Balearic Island sage, has risen to a metre here and formed a substantial bush of pale, woolly foliage in a sunny well-drained position. This one's fully evergreen, so it can look fabulous in winter light when the leaves appear quilted. The more stately Phlomis russeliana is a spreading herbaceous perennial, with stout stems containing five whorls of pallid-yellow flowers supported by mid-green foliage. This substantial phlomis, found naturally in Syria, Turkey and south-west Asia, needs a bit of space. Scabiosa – the small scabious One of my mainstays is the small scabious, Scabiosa columbaria, which is a chalk or lime grassland plant native to the UK, among other places. It's easily grown from seed and the standard form has pale-blue flowers. There is also a pallid-yellow subspecies named ochroleuca, and both bear small pincushions on very wiry stems, above finely cut foliage. This scabious is totally reliable, performing in good and poor summers. It's universally popular with butterflies and bees and mine forms a delicate edge in front of orange and orange-red hemerocallis and crocosmias. Deadheading will keep it going for weeks and I'd line every path with it if I could.
