Bumblebees seem to prefer the buzz of the city to the countryside, a large-scale ‘citizen’s science’ study in the UK found.They also like to have a cool breeze on their backs when foraging, and choose English lavender over the more ‘flowery’French variety, according to the findings.

Scientists were surprised to receive more bumblebee sightings from volunteers in city centres than in either the countryside or suburbs.

After taking account of factors such as local variations in participant numbers, they concluded that densely packed ‘flower rich oases’ in the form of tubs or baskets of flowers used to brighten up city centres were attracting the insects.

“We asked people to record bumblebees visiting lavender,” said lead researcher Michael Pocock, from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.

“The rate of bumblebees observed ... was higher in cities than in other places, and certainly much higher than in the countryside.

“We were surprised to see more observations in urban localities, as suburban gardens are often thought to be better.

“Bumblebees are visiting (flowers) both for nectar and pollen. A likely explanation is that there’s a concentration effect. Bumblebees will be concentrated on floral resources such as pots and baskets of lavender.”