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Bee-friends

DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,773
edited November 2021 in Wildlife gardening
My son sent me this text and photo …

“I shared my sugary expresso with this bee who was struggling then I realised he was trying to get a small mite off his head. Kept scraping at it with his leg, so I scraped it off with a twig and he lay there panting for a bit then had some more coffee and flew off. x”


“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







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  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 33,749
    Aw bless'im.
    Great photo
    Devon.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,773
    In this pic you can see the mite he removed, although I think I can see another one … 

    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,773
    He just used his iPhone. 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    Probably a she, I would imagine.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,773
    @Fire … do you think it’s a Queen?  My son did say it really was quite big. 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    Queens are the ones I'm seeing around mostly at the moment. They have a much lower pitched drone and are bigger. They sound like Ray Winston might (if he were a bee).
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,773
    edited November 2021
    I’ll tell him that … thanks @Fire 😊 
    Not a clear pic but any idea which sort?
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    @wild edges  would know. I would hazard a guess at a buff tailed bumble. But it's just a guess.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,773
    That’s what I was thinking … but just a guess too. Let’s see if @wild edges comes along 🐝 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 9,063
    Don't worry about the mites. The new queens carry a load of mites and mite eggs away from the old nest and they'll hibernate with her until she builds a new nest. Some of them are parasitic but most will just be general cleaner mites that eat waste in the nest. Most of the time even the parasites don't do much harm so best to just leave them to it. It's not in the parasite's interest to kill the bee. I've found bees that were dying or recently dead for various reasons in the past and if you put them in the middle of a white sheet of paper you might be amazed at what tiny creatures crawl away from them when they die.
    Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people
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