Bees on the farm

We run our little farm a bit differently to most. We are, due to lack of money, organic, although I really need to get rid of the crazy weeds.

We also practice conservation grazing. So we don't intensively graze the grass down to soil the move the cows on. We have very few animals in a huge field, and they are free to roam around eating the forage. Effectively it means the herbs and grasses always have time to flower and go to seed, then I move the cows on to the next space, thus giving the grazed area lots of time to recover, grow and flower again.

It's interesting to see how the cows graze too. They love the lush leaves of the grass, but even more they love the flowers of the grass and developing seed heads. Usually we are told if a grass has gone to flower the grass is wasted, our cows disagree!

Also I think it depends on the breed of cattle. The high production dairy cow probably has a specific requirement, but our ancient Red Devons are perfect for this type of grazing, and get very fat on it!

Anyhow, back to bees, we always have lots of bees on our place, honeybees from nearby hives, and wonderful bumblers!

Also I thought we had Mason bees, but they are Mason or Potter wasps instead that paralyse and collect spiders for their young not pollen. I find them quite macabre. Mason bees haven't been imported here.

The bumble bees were imported at the end of the 1800s to pollenate the clover, which no native insect could do.
We have lots of bumble bees. Every year a new young queen makes a small nest in a hole in the ground or similar, then lays some worker eggs and collects pollen for them, and makes a tiny bit of honey. When they are old enough they do the foraging for her, and shee just lays eggs. At the end of the season the old queen lays future queen eggs and some male eggs. They hatch and mate, and overwinter in a burrow of their own and so it starts again after they wake up from winter hibernation.
I like it when I see baby bumble bees.
I think our system of farming suits them well, and in turn they pollinate our clover and my orchard!

I love bees.