Beware of sleeping queen bees underfoot this spring!

Beware of sleeping queen bees underfoot this spring! Royal insects emerging from hibernation rest amongst dead leaves and grass, cutting edge tracking tech reveals New research has shown that after hibernating they rest among dead leaves  It  was thought that the queen bees dispersed in the spring to find new colonies  This is their way of conserving energy which gives them a much longer range The findings showed that queen bumblebees spent an average of 10 to 20 minutes on the ground between brief flights lasting just 10 to 20 seconds 

By Victoria Bell For Mailonline

Published: 10:00 GMT, 20 March 2019 | Updated: 10:29 GMT, 20 March 2019

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If you go down to the woods today, watch your step as you might accidentally tread on a sleepy queen bumblebee.

New research has shown that, after hibernating through winter, bumblebee queens spend most of their time resting among dead leaves and grass rather than flying.

Previously it was thought that the queen bees dispersed quickly in the spring to found new colonies.

The new evidence suggests that instead they make short flights punctuated by long rest periods on the ground. 

Conserving energy in this way gives them a much longer range as they search for a new site to colonise.

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If you go down to the woods today, watch your step as you might accidentally tread on a sleepy queen bumblebee. New research has shown that, after hibernating through winter, bumblebee queens spend most of their time resting among dead leaves and grass rather than flying

If you go down to the woods today, watch your step as you might accidentally tread on a sleepy queen bumblebee. New research has shown that, after hibernating through winter, bumblebee queens spend most of their time resting among dead leaves and grass rather than flying

The study was carried out by experts at Queen Mary, University of London, who attached small tracking antennae to the backs of queens that had just emerged from artificially induced hibernation.

Co- lead author Doctor Joe Woodgate said the study suggests that a few weeks of this type of behaviour would carry queen bees several kilometres away from their hibernation site.

'This might explain how queens disperse from the nest in which they were born to the place they choose to found a new colony,' she said.

The findings showed that queen bumblebees spent an average of 10 to 20 minutes on the ground between brief flights lasting just 10 to 20 seconds.

When they flew, they took off in random directions.

Computer simulations

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