Dr Thomas Ings and colleagues are starting to discover why there has been an increase in the number of active bees in the winter months (Physorg). One species, the buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, is foraging from various exotic winter-flowering plants around the gardens and parks in Britain. The researchers found that a new generation of young workers has been raised in this species. “All of the UK's bumblebee species normally die out in the autumn leaving only their new queens to survive the cold in hibernation. However, this research points to a major new change in the behaviour of the British buff-tailed bumblebee,” said Dr Ings.