How to help bumblebees survive their winter hibernation

As the days get colder and the nights grow longer, Dr Emily Lambert from disruptive wildflower company Seedball has given her top tips to help bumblebees survive their winter hibernation.

Conservation scientists Emily and Dr Ana Attlee founded Seedball a decade ago and have been passionate advocates for rewilding the UK ever since.

Emily said: “Unlike their honey-making family members, bumblebees are completely reliant on flowers for all their food, and as a result nests have a short, annual lifecycle. At the end of summer, or even sometimes halfway through, when their favourite flowers have started to die down, the bumblebee queen will emerge from her nest to find somewhere cosy and safe to hibernate. Other bumblebees in the nest only have a lifecycle of a few weeks, so will begin to die off naturally.

“The queen mates before she goes into hibernation, so is already carrying the next generation of bumblebees when she emerges from her nest in the spring. Therefore, by providing safe spaces to hibernate, people can ensure that they play their part in a flourishing bumblebee population in 2025 and beyond!

“After taking in nectar and pollen to build up vital fat stores, the next job for a queen bumblebee is to find a spot to hibernate in and avoid the frost. They can choose from a wide range – from burrowing into well-drained, soft soil, to among fallen leaves, inside hollow trees, inside flowerpots or even tree bark.

“Although they very cleverly choose spots that can be ideal, there is a lot we can do to help them find their perfect slumbering spot. One option is to make a log pile for the queen to hide in, and then make sure to then leave it alone so this important bumblebee isn’t disturbed. Or, people could leave dedicated areas of leaf litter or build an open compost heap or raised bed for them to snooze in.

“People could even create a ‘bee bank’, which is a shallow, sloping bank of bare, sandy soil for them to overwinter in. Leaving wild areas with longer grass and moss, and then covering it, can also provide the perfect hibernation spot.

“When carrying out winter or spring jobs in the garden, it’s possible that you could come across a hibernating queen and disturb her. If this happens, just gently cover her back over with the same material that she had dug into and leave her alone. If she is buzzing around and won’t go back into her hibernation spot, place her somewhere sheltered – but never indoors. People can also help by leaving their compost heaps untouched and avoiding digging soil until spring.

“When spring blooms, the queens will emerge from their winter slumber to replenish their energy stores with nectar. This usually happens in late March or early April. As the months become warmer again, you can then also scatter wildflower seed balls to encourage bumblebees to stay close to home and make their new nest safely. Our Bumblebee Collection contains three tins full of wildflower seed balls which are especially designed to appeal to our vital pollinators, such as cornflowers, oxeye daisies, buttercups, cornflowers and poppies.

“Pollinators need all the help they can get, as wildflower meadows have reduced drastically over the last 100 years, so this is a really easy way to make a difference.”

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Editors notes

Seedball was founded by two conservation scientists wanting to boost biodiversity and help wildlife.

Seedball Ltd is an innovative organisation on a mission to help increase the abundance of British wildflowers and the wildlife that depends upon them.

Owned by Project Maya – a non-profit enterprise - Seedball manufactures wildflower seed balls using a unique innovation of wildflower seeds mixed with clay, peat-free compost and chilli powder to naturally protect seeds from predators. Its products are sold in over 500 stores in the UK, including Kew Gardens, The Woodland Trust and Blue Diamond Garden Centres, as well as online retailers such as Crocus and Marie Curie. Each year, Seedball also donates products to hundreds of schools and community groups to help support their nature projects.