Our bumblebees are disappearing

Back in May 2006 the Independent newspaper filled its front page with a warning about the decline of Bumblebees in Britain and elsewhere: "Our Bumblebees are disappearing". Since then I have been paying more attention to the buzzing visitors to my own and other people's gardens. My garden is designed to encourage visits from bumblebees with plenty of nectar and pollen rich flowers. I have joined up with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and read up on the subject.
There are plenty of things still to discover about these apparently familiar insects:

• How do you conserve bumblebees?
• What flowers to they enjoy visiting?
• How can you tell one type of Bee from another?

One thing I have learned is that the more time you spend observing what is going on in your own back garden, the richer your world appears to be.