#bumblebees — Public Fediverse posts

Not one, but two #Bumblebees were sampling my Mammoth #sunflower at the #CommunityGarden. No goldfinch damage -- but other gardeners have been growing different sunflowers, so I'll have to keep that in mind (surprise hybrids?). I'm sure whatever they are, they'll be edible -- especially for the birds!

#SolarPunkSunday #GardeningForPollinators

#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.

23.

Bumblebees leave a scent on flowers they visit which can be recognised by other bees thus saving them time and energy foraging already ‘empty’ flowers.

‘There are always flowers for those who want to see them.’
- Matiss
#bees #bumblebees
#nature #biodiversity
#science #education
#environment #climate
#saturday #worldbeesanctuary
#wildlife #naturephotography

#News: A new #pesticide used on corn and soybeans is altering the gene activity of #bumblebees making them unable to reproduce. Without immediate action, #chemicals like #sulfoxaflor could send #bees #extinct! #SavetheBees #BanPesticides #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife 🐝☠️ @palmoildetectives https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/07/260709160630.htm?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=Palm+Oil+Detectives&utm_campaign=publer

#summer #zomer #nature #natuur #hoverflies #zweefvliegen #butterflies #vlinders #nederlandsevlinders #bees #bijen #bumblebees #hommels #nederlandsenatuur #macrophotography

#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.

21.

Bumblebee Life Cycle - quick version!
Spring - hibernating queens emerge.
Feed.
Start new nest.
Lay eggs.
Produce female workers.
Late summer - produce males and new queens.
New queens mate.
New queens hibernate.
All other #bees die.
Nest ends.
Repeat.
#nature #science #education
#bumblebees #wildlife
#naturephotography

@DoomsdaysCW

- To support #Bumblebees, include plants like #WildBergamot, #hyssop, and #goldenrod.

I would add Lavender, and wild Oregano, Bumblebees absolutely love them, both have long flowering period in many areas.

And they are useful to the humans in the area as well.

#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.

20.

Foraging #bumblebees return to the nest with on average 25% of their body weight in pollen/nectar. Some #bees carry up to 75% of their body weight per trip!

‘Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy.’
- Newton

#nature #sunday #worldbeesanctuary

#SeedSavingExchange - Learn how to create a garden that will attract #NativePollinators with #SeedSaving in mind.

Excerpt:

"Serve Up an Enticing Menu Year-Round

Flowering plants supply #pollinators like #bees and #butterflies with essential pollen and nectar. #PollinatorFriendly plants also provide a safe shelter for our hard-working insect friends. The most important aspect of any pollinator garden is diversity. Because pollinators are active from April to October, make sure you have a colorful array of continuously blooming flowers from early spring through fall and keep your plants free of pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides.

Plants should be selected based on the space they will occupy. Specifically, consider your space’s soil type, sun exposure, and moisture levels.

You may also choose to select plant species to support specific pollinators.

- To help monarch butterflies, include #milkweeds and high-quality nectar plants like blazingstars.
- To support #Bumblebees, include plants like #WildBergamot, #hyssop, and #goldenrod.
- #Sunflowers offer not only a supportive perch but also seeds to help attract #hummingbirds and other feathered friends to your garden. #Honeysuckles are also a great way to attract hummingbirds.

To ensure that the pollinators will have something to forage from spring through fall, select various natives that flower at different times throughout the growing season. Choosing plants with a variety of flower colors and shapes will also help attract an assortment of insects of a variety of sizes and foraging habits. Larger clusters of a plant species are better for attracting pollinators than several smaller clusters in and around the garden space."

Learn more:
https://seedsavers.org/learn/pollinators/

#SolarPunkSunday #Gardening #GardeningForPollinators #SeedCollection #NativePlants

If these plants are growing in your yard, leave them be! For the bees!

#NativePlants for rusty patched #bumblebees

Fall Blooming (September - October)

Native field #thistle (Cirsium discolor)
Native swamp thistle (Cirsium muticum)
Native gentian species (Gentiana spp)
Showy #goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
Native goldenrod species (Solidago spp)
New England #aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

Learn more:
https://www.fws.gov/story/planting-rusty-patched-bumble-bees

#SolarPunkSunday #EndangeredBees #RustyPatchedBumblebee #Gardening #GardeningForPollinators #USFWS #US #FWS #FishAndWildlifeService

How to attract #bumblebees to your #garden

Having some early and some late flowers in your planting mix will prolong the nectar season for bumblebees

Excerpt: "Top 30 plants for bumblebees

As with any planting for nectar, having some early and late flowers in the mix will prolong the nectar season for bumblebees. Planting them in drifts will help bees recognise them and allows them to visit repeatedly.

Agastache (Agastache sp)
Betony (Stachys officianlis)
Borage (Borago officianalis)
Broad bean (Vicia g faba)
Buddleia (Buddleia davidii)
Bugle (Ajuga reptans)
Catmint (Nepeta)
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Clovers (Trifolium)
Comfrey (Spymphytum officianale)
Cranesbill (Geranium)
Curry plant (Helichrysum angustifolium)
Figwort (Scrophularia nodosa)
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Honeysuckle (Lonicera)
Heather (Calluna, Erica)
Knapweed (Centaurea)
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Marjoram (Origanum vulgare)
Mints (Mentha)
Nasturium (Tropaeolum majus)
Poached Egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officianalis)
Sage (Salvia officianalis)
Larkspur (Delphinium)
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum)
Thistles (Cirsium)
Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)
Verbascum (Verbascum)
Viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare)
Woundworts (Stachys arvensis)

Seasonal planting

Having some early and some late flowers in your planting mix will prolong the nectar season for bumble bees and other pollinators, too. Planting them in drifts will help bees to recognise them easily, allowing them to visit repeatedly.

Early flowers
Aubretia (Aubretia)
Dandelion (Taraxacum)
English bluebells (Hyancynthiodes non-scripta)
Flowering currant (Ribes sanguinium)
Forget-me-not (Myosotis arvensis)
Hazel (Corylus avellana)
Pussy willow (Alix caprea)
Wallflower (Erysimum cheiri)
White deadnettle (Lamium album)
Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

Late flowers
Buddleia (Buddleia davidii)
Ceanothus (Ceonothus)
Cone flower (Echinacea)
Goldenrod (Solidago candensis)
Ivy (Hedera helix)
Lavender (Lavandula)
Michaelmas daisies (Aster)
Red valerian (Centranthus ruber)
Sedum (Sedum spectabile)"

Learn more:
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-attract-bumblebees-your-garden

#SolarPunkSunday #GardeningForPollinators #Gardening

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 #nature

…a favourite as they try to build up energy to fuel their long patrolling flights for mates - are likely males.
Sleeping on flowers can however leave them vulnerable to inclement weather conditions and predation and males have no stinger to defend themselves.
They can’t sting!
13/16
#bees #bumblebees

…of the tibia that is. (Stop it! 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
#advocacy #planet

…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
#bees #bumblebees

…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 #bumblebees #nature

…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 #inbreeding #maga
#bumblebees

…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 #wildflowers #nature

…foraging in inclement weather or too late and losing light, low energy and 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 #bumblebees #life

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
#insects #education

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 #nature

Good afternoon, good morning and good evening folks!

Notice #bumblebees asleep on #flowers recently?

Want to know what’s going on with them?

Well here’s a quick (long)🙄 thread explaining the bumblebee flower-sleeping phenomenon.

Please #ShareAndRepostEverywhere
#share #repost
so more people are more informed.
Thank you.🙏🏼🐝
1/16

#bees #nature #education
#science #biodiveristy
#education #worldbeesanctuary
#insects #pollinators #environment #vegan #summer

#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.

17.

#Dandelions are vital to bees.
Vast flowering season - February to November around here.
Nectar/pollen for hungry #bees/#hoverflies/#butterflies among others.
Cherish them.

‘A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees’
- Blake

#nature #bumblebees
#biodiversity #wildflowers
#environment #insects
#education #science #wildlife
#worldbeesanctuary

Stupid Hot: Heat Waves Are Making Animals More Aggressive, Forgetful and Less Alert

Illustration: ZME Science. On scorching days in South Africa’s Kalahari, female southern pied babblers can have trouble solving…
#NewsBeep #News #Science #animalbehavior #animalcognition #AU #Australia #Bumblebees #chamois #Climatechange #dogbites #Ecology #ExtremeHeat #guppies #heatwaves #southernpiedbabblers #Wildlife
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/841937/