Beauty queens

DENTIFYING bumblebees isn’t all that easy because the queens, males and workers often have different markings and face colours. Size varies, too. The first bees to emerge from the nest are often tiny, but as the colony develops more food becomes available. As a result of more food, the size of the bees increases. I encountered both problems in the mid-1980s, when I tried to track red-tailed bumblebees () for a nationwide survey. The early workers were so tiny that I failed to identify them. I have learnt to ignore size and concentrate on the bands and tail markings instead.