[Hortic]

In the mornings in the spring, when I open the bedroom curtains and admire the spring blossom out back, I've counted the bumblebees flitting about. And while the count fluctuated, there were always bumblelers there.

Except this year. And I realised that this decline, and the loss of our hedgehog, correspond to the presence of a badger that moved into the fox den in the trees upslope.
Not far from my flat I had come across a bumblebee nest in an old mouse nest that the badger had dug out leaving exposed grubs and panicking workers among the scrapings. And lost another ground based nest at my allotment due to the badgers at a large sett nearby. And I wonder how many other local nests have been devoured by the badger? Because the bumblebees are gone. My wet wildflower patch has been snuffled though but as grubs like chafers were eaten I have no problem with a bit of damage. But I do miss the bumblebees.