Back Garden Biology

Learn how to identify common garden bees and find out why they never seem to stay still. In March and April queen bumblebees shake off their winter sleep and emerge to found new colonies. In this episode, we learn how to identify the commonest garden species and find out why they never seem to stay still. Bees, like all species of ants, bees and wasps, have a highly unusual system to determine whether new bees will be male or female. But although all worker bees are female, the queen tries to prevent her daughters from having offspring of their own.

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The beautiful snake's-head fritillary is the flower of Oxfordshire. In this episode we look closely at the flowers it produces. The snake's-head fritillary is the county flower of Oxfordshire. Some consider it mournful, because of its drooping flower heads and dark purple colour. But some individuals produce white flowers instead. In this episode we learn how two different colours might remain in a population and one possible explanation involves reliance on herd immunity - a key concept in the current coronavirus crisis

The beautiful snake's-head fritillary is the flower of Oxfordshire. In this episode we look closely at the flowers it produces. The snake's-head fritillary is the county flower of Oxfordshire. Some consider it mournful, because of its drooping flower heads and dark purple colour. But some individuals produce white flowers instead. In this episode we learn how two different colours might remain in a population and one possible explanation involves reliance on herd immunity - a key concept in the current coronavirus crisis Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Plants attract pollinators through their colourful flowers but some plants aren't quite what they seem. Plants need to attract pollinators and a mass of flowers is a good way to convince bees to visit. But some plants aren’t quite what they seem. The lungwort tries to look as impressive as possible by holding onto old flowers that are long past their best, but surely bees aren’t so easily deceived? Find out how the hairy-footed flower bee has forced the plant to reveal its true colours, and meet the incredible bee-fly that’s also pretending to be something it’s not.

Plants attract pollinators through their colourful flowers but some plants aren't quite what they seem. Plants need to attract pollinators and a mass of flowers is a good way to convince bees to visit. But some plants aren’t quite what they seem. The lungwort tries to look as impressive as possible by holding onto old flowers that are long past their best, but surely bees aren’t so easily deceived? Find out how the hairy-footed flower bee has forced the plant to reveal its true colours, and meet the incredible bee-fly that’s also pretending to be something it’s not. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

In early spring, primroses and cowslips can be found in many gardens and parks. Their yellow flowers are certainly beautiful, but they also hold a secret: they come in two different types that can only mate with each other. In this episode we take a close look at several flowers – including a daffodil and a tulip – to remind ourselves what’s inside, before considering why plants bother to have sex at all. Why not look around your own garden to see if you have similar flowers and note down what you find, perhaps through a pencil drawing or by taking photos. Filmed in March 2020.

In early spring, primroses and cowslips can be found in many gardens and parks. Their yellow flowers are certainly beautiful, but they also hold a secret: they come in two different types that can only mate with each other. In this episode we take a close look at several flowers – including a daffodil and a tulip – to remind ourselves what’s inside, before considering why plants bother to have sex at all. Why not look around your own garden to see if you have similar flowers and note down what you find, perhaps through a pencil drawing or by taking photos. Filmed in March 2020. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/