Bumble Bee

[Pythia]

Out for a ciggy break this morning, one of my colleagues spotted a very large bee in the car park. Fearing this lovely creature would end up being stamped on or killed by a car, I let him (or her) crawl onto my hand. I took the bee over to some briar roses we have growing by the wall and let him crawl onto one of the roses.

The bee was quite large - about an inch long and about half an inch wide and furry. He was really cute. My colleagues were sure I would be stung but I'm not sure if bumble bees have a sting or not. Either way, I didn't get stung.

When I went to see if he was still there (I thought the bee might be coming to the end of his life), he was gone, hopefully rested enough to fly wherever he was going.

Truly lovely little animal and I feel very privileged having "rescued" him and being able to hold him for a short while.

I think you can guess I like bees

[naturegirl]

I like bees too but unfortunately go into anaphylactic shock if I am stung so avoid them too closely! I think they are lovely creatures who just want to be left alone to do 'bee stuff' Keep up the good work!
Naturegirl

[angiejoy]

On Saturday I found at least 12 dead bees, all of differing types, on my car park.
The Environment Agency were about as much good as nothing when I tried to report it and the local apiary failed to get back to my e-mail.
Is anyone really bothered?!

[Jason Green]

Hi Pythia,

What was the weather like? If it HAD been warm then became overcast, bees often 'go quiet' and dopey until the sun comes out again. Had it been raining? If so, it could have got waterlogged - again, it was probably just drying off.

As for the species, I guess it was B.terrestris.

[Pythia]

It was a mixture of sun and cloud, so he could have gone sleepy. Had I left him where he was, he would most certainly have been killed and so many of our wonderful insects get killed, usually through people's ignorance. At least putting him on the rose, away from people and traffic has given him a chance. It was lovely seeing him up close like that too. Pity I didn't have my camera.

Sadly, a lot of our bees (and bees worldwide) seem to be dying of some disease. I often wonder if this is a direct result of GM crops

I think we interfere with nature far too much nowadays.

[eucera]

A couple of things to consider from this post.

1) We have no evidence that allows us to suppose that the bee in question was Bombus terrestris

2) It is important to get the term "bees" sorted out carefully. Yes, it is true that some bees are suffering from disease. Primarily these are Honey bees The losses in some places have been huge, but because of a number of drivers: Disease is one, but in Europe we have suffered more from losses due to agricultural pesticides (Imidachloprid primarily) and sweeping changes in land use and agricultural practice. Bumbles (many species also in decline) are not susceptible to Varroa parasites or the regular honey bee diseases, although they do suffer from Nosema parasites. The biggest threats to these seems to be from habitat loss. Solitary bees (we have some 240 species in UK) are subject to a variety of threats, again, habitat loss is at the top of the list.

3) There is no evidence at all that GM crops are responsible for bee decline, here or anywhere else. The onset of decline, in most cases, pre-dates GM technology

[Pythia]

Eucera. Most of your post I totally agree with. Loss of habitat and the use of pesticides is responsible for the demise of a lot of our wildlife. However, I found your post just a little on the arrogant side, particularly your first point.

I am not an expert on insects, in fact I know very little but I found this site and joined in the hope of learning more about the various insects and wildlife we have. Seems I may have joined the wrong site

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Pythia

Eucera. Most of your post I totally agree with. Loss of habitat and the use of pesticides is responsible for the demise of a lot of our wildlife. However, I found your post just a little on the arrogant side, particularly your first point.

I am not an expert on insects, in fact I know very little but I found this site and joined in the hope of learning more about the various insects and wildlife we have. Seems I may have joined the wrong site

I hope you continue to learn from this site. However you seem a little oversensitive here- I can see nothing that I would describe as arrogant in Eucera's post.

Those who have used this site for some time are indebted to the expertise + help that Eucera gives us on the identification, etc on bees + wasps, an area in which he has much knowledge. I think you'll find he was trying to be helpful + scientifically sound.

[The Black Rabbit]

Originally Posted by angiejoy

On Saturday I found at least 12 dead bees, all of differing types, on my car park.
The Environment Agency were about as much good as nothing when I tried to report it and the local apiary failed to get back to my e-mail.
Is anyone really bothered?!

Well the Environment Agency would never be professionally interested in bees, dealing with (in the main) pollution and flooding, but your local apiary should have been VERY interested?
Shame.

TBR