Hi, there seem to have been more bumble bees than usual this spring and thus their appearance often crops up in conversation. However, I can not find the work for bumble bee. I have to say something like “dim gwenynen mel gwenynen mawr a blewog” or “gwenynen cyffredin” which isn’t right but gets around my problem. The usual dictionaries don’t help - can anyone help me with this.
Cheers
My online dictionary just says ‘gwenynen’. Perhaps that just means ‘bee’.
“Cachgi bwm” is one word for a bumble bee!
Got a feeling there may well be more…
This blog has some options:
Mae’r enw Cymraeg am bumblebee yn achosi trafferth weithiau. Cacynen, cachgi bwm, gwenynen, hwrli bwm. Mae’r Bumblebee Conservation Trust wedi cynhyrchu taflen yn Gymraeg**, ac yn anffodus maen nhw’n eu galw yn ‘wenyn mawr’!!
I think I’ve heard hwrli bwm on Cyw…
I’m with Owain Lurch on this one - Cachgi Bwm is what we use.
In the Geiriadur yr Academi it says
bumble-bee n. cacynen f (cacwn),cacwn m (cacynod) often, incorrectly, cacynen (f) bwm, cacynen y tewlaeth, S.W:cachgi (m) bwm, gwenynen wyllt (gwenyn gwyllt), S:occ: hwrli-bwm m (hwrli-bwms)
Thanks all, I’m going with cachgi bwm, it sounds better than the others.
Thanks all, I’m going with cachgi bwm, it sounds better than the others
Yes, but don’t forget the “g” or you might be misunderstood. 
Thanks Dee for the pointer to the Geiriadur Yr Academi which looks very useful
Thanks also to Huw for helping me avoid a potential faux pas
Yes, but don’t forget the “g” or you might be misunderstood.
Haha! For those who don’t know, cach: to defecate; cachu: excrement. I always remember calling rubbish things “cack!” in school. Wasn’t until I wanted to swear in Welsh a couple of a months back that I realised how close it was.
Yes! Lots of very large bumbles bees around this spring, much more than I’ve seen in previous years, maybe it’s to do with the mild winter?
‘cachgi bwm’ isn’t commonly heard further north, you are more likely to hear gwenyn/gwenyn mawr/gwenyn blewog. For wasps we say gwenyn meirch. 
I thought cachgi was the word for ‘coward’…?
I thought it was just a general insult! Then again I’ve never looked up a definition, just kind of got from context (and its derivation) that it was intended as insulting. geiriadur.net agrees with you though, so thanks for pointing that out!
Kinetic - geiriadur.net agrees with you though
I think that’s where I got it from! Oh dear, now wondering if and how I’ve used it. Did I decribe anybody (or myself) as a bumblebee?!
gerpsych: There seem to have been more bumble bees than usual this spring…
I’m glad someone else has noticed this! I wonder if it is related to a particular pesticide (am I remembering that rightly?) being banned/its use suspended?
There was a bumble bee in the whats outside thread, i am hoping next winter to put out a couple of tempting nest boxes for over wintering queens with the hope of filming nest development in the spring.
I have Iolo williams nature book which is low on species number. but.
What people are most likely seeing the most of (i am here).
Cacynen gyffredin - the buff tailed bumble bee (Bombus terrestris).
I’m also seeing a few.
Cacynen dingoch - the red tailed bumble bee (Bombus lapidarius), my favorite.
When i say the book is light on species: there are 26 species on the British list, though 3 of these are believed to have gone extinct, and a new European species has been making inroads from the south northwards.
Half of bee species are cuckoo bees, i.e. they don’t collect pollen/nectar to build a brood nest, instead they lay their eggs in nests of other bees, (sneaky).
Pesticides seem to be part of the problem but mono cropping seems to be as much to blame, it’s fittingly ironic that bee keepers in London are doing really well which seems to be because there is a huge mixture of plants there including a great variety of trees so the bees can find food almost anytime. Yes its another subject i can be really boring about.
Cheers J.P.
That’s really interesting John, diolch. I’m trying to teach Angharad Lliar about the importance of insects especially bees and Butterflies and am desperately trying to discourage her from picking wild flowers so frequently.
So today we began with our endeavour to encourage more insect life in to our garden by buying some tubs, three different daisy species and two different lavenders to bring colour and pollen to our garden. We also put more bird feeders up… Just to strike a balance… 
Let’s hope for a garden full of wildlife this summer.
I have enjoyed the discussion on bumble bees almost more than I can say.
I read the whole thread to my wife, then to my mother and my daughter. I got laughs out of everyone.
Both cachgi-bwm and hwrli-bwm fit the little beasties, but hwrli-bwm glides off the tongue just right. The thread was delightful.
Diolch i un a phob