Reviving a Bumblebee

Taffycat

Taffycat

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Yesterday, we found an exhausted bumblebee staggering about outside, so I put a dab of honey onto a little piece of card and set it down near to the bee. There was instant interest from the bee, who pulled himself forward to the honey and immediately began to suck at it. he was there for what seemed to be ages, occasionally putting his front feet into the honey-puddle too, but not getting stuck (I know that because I gently moved it just to make sure, didn't want to accidentally trap him.) Here's a pic of the little fellow. He took off as good as new once he had re-fuelled :thumb: :D

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But, just in case anyone is thinking this sounds eccentric, I've just found an article on a beekeeping website which says:

DO A GOOD DEED- RESUSCITATE A BUMBLEBEE

In the Spring it is not unusual to find a bumblebee flaked out on a windowsill, barely able to move, only able to raise one leg in self defence. It probably entered through an open window looking for food or a nesting site and has flown against the glass until exhaustion supervened. If the Bumble is particularly large, she is probably a queen, so her loss means the loss of a whole colony. Fear not, all is not lost. She has probably simply run out of fuel, like a little aeroplane, and it is well worth trying to resuscitate her.
You will need a drop of honey, syrup or jam (in that order of preference) and a card and glass or jar so that you can move her outdoors without the risk of Her Majesty stinging you.
Place a small drop of honey in front of her head and watch out for the following sequence of events;
Firstly, the antennae move around, noting the scent of sugary salvation. Then the tongue comes out and sucks up the droplet. If she finishes one drop, give her another. After several minutes (up to 20 mins) she will start to walk about and then suddenly fly, usually straight back to the window! This is the time to put the jar over her then slide the card between the jar and window pane. Then you will have her safely contained and though she won't thank you for it, you can now take her outdoors and release her.
Now you can bask in the warm glow, having done your good deed for the day.
Bumblebees, of all species, are in decline and we owe it to these useful and beautiful creatures to help, particularly as we unwittingly set traps for them, ie. windows, which must kill many thousands every year. Joe Dod Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers
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I guess with the event of crosse pollination taking place by man they would be in decline, only being used to make honey. What a shame

How many people would just walk by and do nothing for the poor lil' blighter
 
I usually stamp on 'em :)


No, no, not really - only joking - stop hitting me! :eek:

I have moved them to somewhere safe before when I've seen them flaked out, with a jar or cup and piece of card but I didn't know about giving them jam or honey.

But I do now :)

Heart-warming :thumb:

In all my life I've never been stung by a bee so for all I know I could be allergic to bee stings and the first sting might kill me. But as about the only thing I'm allergic to is horses, that's probably unlikey.
 
floppybootstomp said:
In all my life I've never been stung by a bee so for all I know I could be allergic to bee stings and the first sting might kill me. But as about the only thing I'm allergic to is horses, that's probably unlikey.
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I haven't either, and ditto, don't know whether I would be allergic. I am not allergic to horses, but oddly, I am to horseflies. Whenever I have been bitten by one of those little blighters, I have ended up with a swollen arm, or leg, depending upon their chosen location - even ended-up in ER on one occasion.

I was once stung by a dead wasp! I was just a young teen at the time. As I crossed the landing at home, in bare feet, I trod on something really sharp (as I thought) and let out a yelp. Mum came to see what had happened, found me hopping about gripping a throbbing foot and immediately began search around on the floor, muttering about there being nothing sharp for my foot to find.... until she spotted the wasp corpse. I can report that it was an extremely painful experience for us both (myself and the wasp that is.) :p
 
Horses don't sting ... :confused:

Bumblebees very rarely sting and the male doesn't even have a sting ... bees, on the other hand can be aggressive.

We have three "basic" bees types in Britain ... Honey Bee, Bumblebee and numerous small solitary bees. However, there are over 200-250 different species of Bee including a couple dozen Bumblebee types.

TC's bee looks like a buff-tailed bumblebee, I can just see the white tip to the tail, and therefore probably a male ... there is a white-tip Bumblebee that is, fortunately, a lot more white tail-tip and, more lemon-yellow in its bands.

I like Bumblebees. ;)
 
muckshifter said:
Horses don't sting ... :confused:
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You never met Dobbin then, he sure as hell stung me one night.

Took me for thirty quid in a poker session down the local stables.

Very clever horse was Dobbin.

Mr Mucks I was just waffling about how some folk are allergic to bee stings and threw in me own two pennorth ;)

I been stung by wasps loadsa times which is why I don't like them very much at all :D

Bees, on the other hand, look good, are furry and make honey, so Mr & Mrs Bumblebee are quite ok in my book :)
 
I feel quite shamed :( I have occasionally seen 'dying' bumblebees around outside and always feel a bit sad when I do see them (I like bumblebees :) ) and occasionally have moved one out of the way of human or animal traffic, but my main thing has been just to let them die in peace. It never even occured to me that the poor thing might just be a bit hungry :o
I will remember in future, thank you TC :)

As to the related topic, I am allergic to bee stings and have been stung probably about 8-10 times over my life. Definitely a nasty experience. One think I had to learn was how NOT to be afraid of them. Apparently the chemicals we emit when in immediate fear contain some that are similar to those used by bees to warn hivemates of immediate danger (funnily enough lol) and it puts the bees into a 'yellow alert' state and much more likely to respond agressively to a percived threat.
Unfortunately pretending not to be afraid doesn't impress a bee much and so I had to learn how to actually not be afraid lol :nod: Usually I can do quite well on just putting that 'fear' on hold, but once, a couple of years ago, I discovered for sure that it definitely is still in there, when I accidentally mowed over an underground behive in our back paddock. Had to admire the little buggas when they all came swarming up at me out of these holes in the ground. It must've been like Bee sized "Independance Day" when this Ruddy great big lawnmower dropped down on them out of nowhere. As for myself... I retreated in short order and fortunately without the need for ambulances.
Another useful tid-bit for anyone else also allergic to bees, even if they scare the sh*t out of you, don't swat or squish them. Bees emit a chemical trace when dying in such fashions that is designed to adhere to the attacker and warn other bees of the threat to the hive. Normally bees won't sting you if you don't bother them, but if you go around smelling of dead bee....
 
muckshifter said:
Horses don't sting ... :confused:
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You haven't met Pan then. When he gets his morning rub down, he flicks his tail round, and if yer not ready for it, it feels like a cat of nine tails hitting your back...That stings like f*ck

pan.jpg
 
Sounds like a story? I'd love to see some more pics too :) I've always loved Friesians, power & grace, They have an elegance of form that misleads the eye :)
 
cirianz said:
Sounds like a story? I'd love to see some more pics too :) I've always loved Friesians, power & grace, They have an elegance of form that misleads the eye :)
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They are very powerul horses. I also have two 2 Shires.they are lovely, but extremely camera shy. Well shy toanybody really. They only let me and LAura near them, if anybody else comes around the run or hiide in the bck of their boxes...I'll sort somepics out tonight and post them..
 
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