Our churchyard in MAY

Sometimes, in spite of the warm weather we’ve had in early April, it seems as if spring will never come: then all of a sudden more and more plants and insects burst into life. Some of the earliest insects to appear are the Bumblebees: they can fly in colder weather than butterflies and are the earliest to be seen gathering nectar and pollen from the first flowers that bloom.

There are seven species of bumblebee that are still widespread in Sussex. There are two in particular that fly early in the season and can be very abundant wherever they are found. The Buff-tailed Bumblebee is potentially active at any time of the year, although the main flight season runs from March until late October. They feed from an extremely wide range of plant species. They are known to bite holes at the base of flowers that have a deep flower tube, gaining access to nectar that they would not otherwise be able to reach. The Ground-ivy that is abundant in the churchyard is an excellent source of forage for them. The Garden Bumblebee also flies from March until late October. It differs in having a long tongue – almost the length of its body – which allows it to feed on other plant species without having to bite its way in.

At the East end of the meadow, you may have noticed some bare patches of soil, with shallow depressions dug out of the ground. My feeling is that these are probably made by badgers. Badgers have a very varied diet: they will eat a wide variety of roots, bulbs, slugs, snails and any other delicacy that comes to their attention. Such rootling is very beneficial for the development of biodiversity: the bare soil allows flower seeds to take root and grow, without having to compete with thuggish grasses that would otherwise swamp them out before they had a chance to get established. Badgers are mainly nocturnal: they may sometimes be seen late on summer evenings, when the nights are too short for them to have time to find all the food they need. At this time of year however they will emerge from their sett at around 8 or 9 pm.

If you want to see one, wait quietly for them: if you move and make yourself obvious, they will rapidly disappear. Wear dark clothing and sit in the shadow of a tombstone so that they can’t see your silhouette.

And if you do see one, please do let me know.

Nigel Symington