#bumblebees
So early I met myself on the way out of yesterday’s fact.😱
Expecting to lose broadband to the rain. 🙄
Never been this early for anything before. It feels strange - does this mean I’m now officially #climate changed?😔
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
#272.
Research which socially isolated #bumblebees during a key developmental phase found that when reintroduced to the ‘crowd’ the isolated #bees showed an increase in friendly behaviour. The opposite of what researchers predicted!
Late?
Only in full speed.
In slo-mo we’re actually early.
Don’t think about it - just go with it.😊🙄
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
#271.
#270 cont’d.
This use of antennae by bumblebees to ‘communicate’ with other bees in the colony by touching their antennae to the antennae of another bee is referred to as antennation.
It’s kinda like a bee handshake.🐝🤝🐝
#bees #bumblebees
#beesanctuaryireland
#sanctuary #vegan #nature
#organic #disruptive
Bonus fact today!
If you don’t think you can handle 2 bee facts in the same day please don’t take any risks - maybe don’t inhale this one 😎 - or make sure you have a loved one informed of your intention to attempt two facts.🙄
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
#270.
#Bumblebees use their antennae for social interaction within the colony.
Touching antennae with other bees transfers chemical information which allows them to familiarise themselves with the other #bees in the colony.
It’s back!
Sorry we’ve been so light on here for a while. Only so many hours in the day and so much to do!
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
#269.
Inside the narrow waist (petiole) of #bumblebees cooler blood pumped from the abdomen is heated up as it passes warm blood returning from the head and thorax.
This process is known as ‘counter current heat exchange’.
#bees
#beesanctuaryireland
#savingbees
#nature #sanctuary
#organic #vegan #disrupt
Some more snaps with the #Pentax K 135/f2.5. My goal yesterday was to get some late season blooms on a rainy, heavy overcast morning, hoping for some gloominess and nice color saturation...ended up finding some critters along the way.
#NaturePhotography #Spiders #Bumblebees #Thistle #Photography
https://youtube.com/shorts/VOKObFnctMI?si=uJ0rFvoS8Kh9MV7L
Three #bumblebees on my #native #TallThistle. #oklahoma #nature #biodiversity #pollinators
Kill your lawn –– or at least little patches of it –– and you too can provide a haven for native wildlife!
#SomethingBeautiful Bellingham Spring Archive- What, what? Bumble bee butt in the the dahlia! September 3 2023. #LateSummer #BumbleBees #Bees #BeesAreFantastic #Dahlias #BellinghamWA #ThePhotoHour
Going #PesticideFree in your garden is one of the best ways you can help #bumblebees 🐝💚
Download our NEW guide to discover simple ways you can swap sprays for gardening organically, in balance with nature 👉🏽 https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/beethechange/resource/go-pesticide-free/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=beethechange_organic_social
American bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus)
#nature #wildlife #bees #bumblebees #inaturalist #naturephotography #pollinator #pollinatorgarden
Sonoran bumblebee (Bombus sonorus) visiting a salvia in the pollinator garden.
#nature #wildlife #bees #bumblebees #inaturalist #naturephotography #pollinator #pollinatorgarden
This is the same bee I posted last night, sleeping under a zinnia. Still there in the morning before the sun hit this side of the flower patch.
#BloomScrolling #pollinatorgarden #bumblebees #zinnia #flowers #florespondence #FlowerFriday
A couple of bumblebees tucking in for the night.
#BloomScrolling #bumblebees #flowers #florespondence #zinnias
It's not the prettiest flower. It looks kinda weedy when it grows, but gosh, the #bumblebees love them. We got quite the variation of seeds to make them happy, but there is just a cloud of bees on these flowers, and the rest is now mostly ignored.
If I don't spend a lot of time each spring removing lupines, these flowers will soon be gone. Invasive plants are a pain :/
Wild pollinators contribute an estimated $1.5 billion to the US economy each year. Honeybees are generalists with a large range and easy to keep at scale. They are not always very efficient at pollinating though - a gap filled by wild species if they can find living spaces nearby.
https://knowablemagazine.org/article/food-environment/2023/underappreciated-benefits-wild-bees
Zum #InsektenSamstag heute ein paar Hummeln. In Nordamerika gibt es "nur" 46 Arten, aber als Neuling finde ich sie oft nicht leicht zu bestimmen: Die Zeichnung variiert nicht nur für Königinnen, Männchen und Arbeiterinnen, sondern auch häufig nach Standort. Dazu kommt, dass verschiedene Arten regional ihre Muster gegenseitig nachahmen - wahrscheinlich, weil die Abschreckung von Fraßfeinden so verstärkt wird.
I think I have tree bumblebees in my garden.
Just a bumblebee where I wouldn’t normally expect to see any this time if the year, up in the hills of an island in #Dalmatia. It’s been raining far more than usual and the fields are green and in blossom, instead of the usual dry.
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/178590030
#iNaturalist #bumblebees #Hymenoptera #entomology #insects #bees
I'm downright phobic about #hornets, though I've done some homespun CBT over the last half century to get it under control with respect to #bees, yellow jackets, #bumblebees etc.
So why is it as it gets cooler, there are always hornets close to the house (or flying through as I air out in the morning)? I let them be but they do provoke MY flight response. Are these females looking for a new nesting place to overwinter & start a new colony or some such?
Lots of folks are reporting fewer #pollinators but so far there have been plenty here — including my favorite, #BumbleBees. Here’s one (in slow-motion) enjoying the basil flowers in the Saffron bed! I love the way the bumblebee hugs the flower with it's front legs and then just sticks its head in for a while. #gardening
Bombus exitrightus after leaving the zinnia.
Bumblebee visiting knapweed
So many bumbles in the oregano this morning! Two different species. Don't know if deciding to not mow the pasture this spring made a difference, but seeing more bumble bees this year.
#bee
#bees
#BumbleBee
#BumbleBees
Here's a short from one of my hikes this summer out in Lapham Peak state park, one of my favorite places to go, featuring the humble bumbles at work!
https://youtube.com/shorts/U4tYc9zxhOw
#Short #Video #Bumblebees #LaphamPeak #Wisconsin #Hiking #Nature #Meadow #Flowers
Bumblebee sleeping in my dahlia flower. #bloomscrolling #dahlia #bumblebees
4 companion plants for #bumblebees 🐝 #NationalAllotmentsWeek 👩🌾
Grow these alongside fruit & veg crops to attract #bees, who will help pollinate your food! 🍅😋
🌱Pot marigold
🌱 Nasturtiums
🌱 Chives
🌱 Borage
Find out more in our #GrowYourOwn guide👉 https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/beethechange/resource/grow-your-own-fruit-and-vegetables/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=beethechange
I am sad and angry over trees next door being cut down so I had a croissant and took a LOT of bug pics and now I'm going to take a sad nap :blobsad:
- baby zebra jumping spider (_Salticus scenicus_)
- long-legged fly (_Condylostylus_?, family Dolichopodidae) on hostas
- bumblebee (_Bombus_?) on coneflower
- pseudoscorpion (Cthoniidae? Neobisiidae?) :pseudoscorpion:
#ArthroBeauty #DailySpiderPic #arachnids #spiders #pseudoscorpions #flies #bees #bumblebees #macro • #Arachnida #Araneae #Salticidae #Pseudoscorpiones #Hymenoptera #Apidae #Diptera #Dolichopodidae
When I photographed this bumblebee on a garlic chive flower I did not notice the other occupant 🔍.
(08/01/23)
#bumblebee #bumblebees #bee #bees #pollinators #FlowerPhotography #insects #InsectPhotography #NaturePhotography #macro #MacroPhotography #MastoArt #photography #AltText
Bumblebee on garlic chive.
(08/01/23)
#bumblebee #bumblebees #bee #bees #pollinators #FlowerPhotography #insects #InsectPhotography #NaturePhotography #macro #MacroPhotography #MastoArt #photography #AltText
Bumblebee on garlic chive.
(08/01/23)
#bumblebee #bumblebees #bee #bees #pollinators #FlowerPhotography #insects #InsectPhotography #NaturePhotography #macro #MacroPhotography #MastoArt #photography #AltText
I was untangling some tomato vines, but the #bumblebees had no patience for my delicacy. They kept working the flowers and I felt their vibrations all down the vines and through my gloves. Kind of a freaky sensation. #gardening #pollinators
This might be a half-black bumblebee, Bombus vagans. It's wings were very beat up but it could still fly.
Spent a lovely few hours here on the bee sanctuary recently in the company of the gentleman that is Keith Duggan.
The results of our chat are in the Irish Times Magazine today.
Huge genuine thanks to Keith and Ciara Kenny at @irishtimes for telling our story. And of course my partner in crime @thebeegirl for the images.
For #bees.
Always!
🙏🏼
#beesanctuary #vegan #organic
#nature #bumblebees #beesanctuaryireland #naturereserve
#naturebasedsolutions #climate
I write stories occasionally as part of the Daily Kos community, mostly nature stuff. Here's a recent story I did about walking for three hours through Ridgefield NWR for three hours. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/2/2183856/-The-Daily-Bucket-Ridgefield-NWR-It-s-all-in-the-details
#PNW #photography #trees #oaks #wetland #nature #naturephotography #outdoors #washingtonstate #ClarkCounty #RidgefieldNationalWildlifeRefuge #Ridgefield #NationalWildlifeRefuge #NWR #bees #birds #bugs #insects #bumblebees #basalt #plants #invasives #geology #Washington #DailyKos
I am currently storyboarding two feature films so I can't watch as much film as I usually do. Mostly I just listen to them with commentary tracks while I draw.
But here's this week's #LetterboxdFriday and #lastfourwatched!
#PeeWeesBigHoliday #PeeWee #PaulReubens #SavageStreets #LindaBlair #DayoftheDead #Romero #Hornet #Bumblebees #Letterboxd #Cinemastedon #FilmMastodon
It had a good coating of pollen. Hunt's bumblebee, Bombus huntii.
#sunflower #bumblebees #bees #bumblebee #insect
Taken today at 13:54
Some kind of wild bee or bumblebee, (perhaps a tree bumblebee / Bombus hypnorum).
#photography #nature #wildlife #insects #bees #bumblebees #Fujifilm #FujifilmXT2 #Zeisslens #Touit32mm
(photo: @kernpanik | license: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
This is a great thread all about the life of male #bumblebees 🌸🐝
Well worth the read…
From: @thebeeguy
https://mastodon.ie/@thebeeguy/110809291660501893
Hope this provides a little bit of insight and creates a little more #empathy towards these wonderful creatures.
Thanks for reading.
Please share to spread further the knowledge.
#boost
And please do still dream of sleeping in #flowers.
Have a great one!
#bees #bumblebees #beesanctuaryireland
#vegan #organic #nature
16/16
…(although fed better as larvae & then not tasked with contributing to the nest as adults) live a lonely homeless life constantly seeking a mate which most never find. And the final kicker - they never produce sons and never get to meet the daughters they do help produce.
15/16
#bees #bumblebees #beesanctuaryireland
All females develop a stinger but the equivalent part of the body in males develops into the genital capsule.
When males raise that middle leg to warn you to back off it’s just a bluff with no sting to back it up.
So when it comes to #bumblebees the males…
14/16
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
…of the tibia that is. (Stop it!). Males with longer fore and hind legs are more successful at mating.
So those lethargic #bumblebees that you find early morning on flowers at this time of year - especially #thistles as males have a sweet tooth and thistle nectar is…
12/16
…than 10%) actually get to mate. The good news is that unlike male honey bee drones who only mate once, male bumblebees can and do mate more than once and don’t die in or because of the act! When it comes to mating, for male #bumblebees, size does matter - 11/16
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
…specific height preferences at which they patrol spreading their queen attracting scent. Some work their magic in the tree tops while others are more down to earth! Despite mating being their raison d’être the sad fact is that very few males (estimates put it at less…
10/16
#bumblebees #bees #beesanctuaryireland
…patrolling for prospective mates and foraging. They then spend their lonely nights sleeping on or in flowers - the temperature in some flowers at the base near the nectar source can be up to 10ºC above outside temperatures.
Depending on the species male #bumblebees have…
9/16
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
…to avoid inbreeding (take note some humans 😂).
This is where the ‘flower sleeping’ starts. Having no homes these males will now spend their days actively seeking a new queen to mate with and food to sustain themselves. They will travel up to 17 kilometres in a single day…8/16
#bees #bumblebees #beesanctuaryireland
…for themselves.
Once mature they leave the nest. Unlike workers and queens on leaving the nest they don’t perform learning flights to memorise its location but fly directly away never looking back and never to return. They will disperse far from the nest - up to 6 miles -
7/16
#bees #bumblebees #beesanctuaryireland
…mother the queen. When developing as larvae they require more food and for a longer time period than female worker larvae. Ironically later in their short lives males will never forage for pollen and nectar to contribute to the nest but concentrate on foraging for nectar…
6/16
#bees #bumblebees #beesanctuaryireland
…and their apparent penchant for overnighting in flowers.
Male #bumblebees are produced by the queen fairly late in the nest cycle - mid to late summer. Males develop from unfertilised eggs - they have no father - and 100% of their genes will be in common with their…
5/16
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
…foraging in inclement weather or too late & losing light, low energy & natural end of life. But at this time of year - mid to late summer - you may notice a big increase in ‘flower sleepers’ and most of these will likely be males. So let’s take a look at male #bumblebees..
4/16
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
They spend their short lives seeking sugar and a mate.
Most don’t get to mate.
Those that do never meet their offspring.
No male has a son.
Oh and they can’t sting!
#Bumblebees sometimes sleep/overnight on flowers. And for a number of reasons including getting caught out…
3/16
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
Spoiler alert:
To sleep on a flower may appear romantic and magical but the reality can seem more tragic than magic for the bumblebees involved.
Flower sleeping #bumblebees are primarily males.
They don’t have a dad.
Once mature, males leave the nest and never return.
2/16
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
We’ve had a lot of people enquiring about and commenting on #bumblebees asleep on #flowers, especially at this time of year, so here’s a quick (long)🙄 thread explaining what’s going on.
Please #boost so more are more informed.
Thanks good people.
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
#vegan #organic #advocacy
1/16
A very grey, rainy #Saturday morning today. But here’s a video of #bumblebees on lavender in the sun. #Bloomscrolling
My current phone camera doesn't do macros very easily, so good close-up photos are rare. This morning all the stars aligned. This is a yellow-faced bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) on a fireweed flower. The bee was so busy that it didn't notice me creeping in close.
In a corner of the neighborhood I walk by with dogs sometimes there's a big Tecoma sp. bush that's been in bloom a while. The thing always has at least half a dozen American bumblebees on it (easy iNaturalist observation), usually more. I think there's a nest nearby. They squeeze nicely into the flowers to reach the nectar, this flower evidently evolved to be bee pollinated. Their little bee butts sticking out crack me up.
#nature #wildlife #bees #bumblebees #inaturalist #naturephotography
There's a beautiful #lavender #bush absolutely filled with #bumblebees in my neighbourhood. They might be hard to spot on the photograph.
Every time I walk by I pause to enjoy their buzzing. Bumble bees make me happy. :blobuwu: #bloomscrolling
*nomnomnom* Noch ein Snack vor der Nachtruhe: Die beiden Hummeln lassen es sich nochmal gutgehen. Sollte ich auch? :blobcatcookienom:
Hab übrigens kürzlich gelernt, dass Hummeln im Norden Plüschmors heißen. Find ich niedlich. :flower:
Schlaft gut!
I have fun taking macro photos of #bumblebees especially on purple coneflowers which they seem to enjoy & frequently visit. They're so large & cooperative that it's not too hard to make them "appear" the size of a school bus. My ID app suggests that this is a brown-belted bumblebee (Bombus griseocollis) which is a North American native.
(07/11/23)
#bee #bees #pollinators #FlowerPhotography #insects #InsectPhotography #NaturePhotography #macro #MacroPhotography #MastoArt #photography #AltText
Great to see the #bumblebees getting plenty of nectar from the lavender I planted a couple of years ago.
Seems to be attracting lots of #butterflies and other #bees too! #pollinators 🦋🐝
In a SHOCKING surprise development, my Bee Balm has bees on it. #BeeBalm #Bumblebees #bees #flowers #BloomScrolling #summer #garden
Forget the elephant in the room. Let’s talk about the #bumblebees in the box. A thread on the commodification of bumblebees to produce your #food. The numbers, why it’s bad for wild #bees and how they kill them when they’re no longer of use.
Please share.
Boost…
For bees.
1/14
Very busy here on The Bee Sanctuary of Ireland over the past few days so haven’t been able to be here really.
Owe you guys a couple of bee facts.
Till I get them to you here’s a stunning #bumblebee worker rocking some serious pollen baskets foraging on the leek flowers.
#bees #bumblebees #nature
Mornin’.
Would you look at the corbiculae on this wee red arsed #bumblebee foraging on knapweed here on The Bee Sanctuary of Ireland earlier.
Now that’s some serious pollen transportation.
Quick bee fact: A full pollen basket can contain over one million pollen grains.
#bees #beesanctuaryireland
#nature #naturephotography
#bumblebees #vegan #organic
#knapweed #wildflowers