Have you spotted your first bumblebee this year? 

Share photos of your early bee sightings with us for a chance to win bee-brilliant prizes! To enter all you need to do is email your pics to us at media@ydmt.org or share them on social media and tag us (@ydmt). 

We've got Bee Boxes and Meadow Starter Kits up for grabs for your most interesting sightings of early bees. And to help you get the best photos here are our top tips on How to take great photos of bumblebees

Entries open on 21 February until 4 April 2022 and winners will be notified by the closing date.  

When to spot bumblebees?

Did you know that some bumblebees can emerge from hibernation as early as February? In some of the warmer regions of the UK, buff-tailed bumblebees can even be spotted in mid-winter!

Although the Yorkshire Dales in winter might be a little too cold for even the hardiest of bees, you can still keep an eye out for those bumblebees emerging from hibernation in early spring. The very large Buff-tailed queens are among the first bees to emerge. The Early bumblebee is also a spring specialist and can emerge as early as February. And the Tree bumblebee (which only arrived on our shores in 2001) can be seen in February and early March.