Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #solitarybees, aggregated by home.social.
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
54.
Solitary Bee stings tend not to be as strong as those of larger social bees.
Having no large nests to defend these bees only need enough ‘sting’ to fend off the odd rival or an attack by other insects.
Only female #bees sting.
#solitarybees #ashyminingbee
#nature #dandelion #environment
#wildlife #science #education
#wednesday #wildflowers
#biodiversity #worldbeesanctuary
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
40.
80% of solitary bee species are mining bees.
They nest in the ground.
To do this they must have access to bare soil.
Help them - scrape back some soil/build a mound - south facing.
And never use pesticides.
Ever…ever!
🐝
#bees #nature
#solitarybees #biodiversity
#environment #wildlife
#naturephotography #science
#education #worldbeesanctuary
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
18.
Leafcutter #bees: solitary bees that do exactly what they say on the tin. The female cuts pieces from leaves to make individual nest pods for young.
‘And softly through
the altered air
Hurries a timid leaf’
- Emily Dickinson
#nature #wildlife
#solitarybees #education
#biodiversity #worldbeesanctuary
#environment #science
In Germany, oil beetle larvae make flower scents from scratch, and wild bees fall for it
Tiny European oil beetle larvae have a remarkable survival trick: They smell like flowers. Researchers in Germany found…
#Germany #DE #Europe #EU #Europa #beetlelarvae #Europeanbeetle #FriedrichSchillerUniversity #MaxPlanck #MaxPlanckInstitute #Meloeproscarabaeus #solitarybees #wildbees
https://www.europesays.com/germany/65153/
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
13.
Bees have five eyes.
Two compound eyes on the side of the head and three simple eyes in between.
‘Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher’
- Wordsworth
#bees #wildlife
#nature #biodiversity
#solitarybees #pollinators
#science #education
#worldbeesanctuary
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
12.
Some plants make their pollen hard to get.
#bumblebees and some #solitarybees release this pollen by vibrating their flight muscles.
This is BUZZ POLLINATION.
Honey bees can’t do this.
‘The earth laughs in flowers’
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
#bees #nature #pollination
#education #science #wildlife
#worldbeesanctuary
UK - How to Garden Through #ClimateChange
If you’re struggling with your garden in these times of uncertain and extreme weather, who better to talk to than botanist and long-time organic gardener #SallyMorgan, the British-based author of The Healthy Vegetable Garden and #TheClimateChangeGarden?
By Naomi Starkman, September 1, 2022
Excerpt: "You’ve been known as somebody who doesn’t actively weed. Are attitudes changing towards weeds?
I hope so. And there are lots of weeds that have benefits. I quite like #dandelions. Everybody hates them. But actually, if you keep it under control, and you don’t allow it to seed, then you’ve got the benefit of the deep roots. And it will then act as a companion plant. I think to the young gardener who’s looking for a more #biodiverse garden that attracts more insects, and for that, improves the food chain, then weeds are important.
"I’ve got quite excited about weeds this year; I’ve been doing a diversity count in my own plot. Every month, I go out and I count the different number of flowers that I can see in my garden because I need natural predators in my garden. And I’ve noticed that out of season, up to 50 percent of the flowers on offer in my garden are weeds. And they all have a #pollinator or more. So, I’ve got to live with those. Because if I want #bumblebees, small #SolitaryBees, and #ParasiticWasps to be in my garden in March, say, I need a few #weeds, because that’s what they love. Our #StingingNettles are so important for early green fly. And that brings in the ladybugs. So, you’ve got to live with a few weeds to have #biodiversity in the garden. I hope people will see them for the benefit that they are.
"Let’s talk a little bit about #ExtremeWeather gardening. One of our team members lives on the East Coast, and says that she’s been having more trouble than usual growing things this year, particularly because there’s been so much rain and constant moisture. What advice do you have about combating extra moisture?
"For that type of thing, it’s actually #humus, and getting #OrganicMatter in the soil, so that the soil is more #resilient against extra water. #Drainage is quite tricky. I think in the past, I would have suggested adding grit to soil. But now the evidence seems to suggest that grit actually doesn’t do any good unless you put lots of it in. So, I think we’re down to the #mulching and making the soil more #loam-like so it’ll be able to lose that extra moisture. And maybe use more #RaisedBeds, so you can lift that soil off the ground, or give it a bit more drainage. But, it’s really difficult. The other thing that one can do is to look at the variety of crops that you are growing, and see whether there are varieties within that crop type that might be a little bit more resilient against getting wet."
Full article:
https://civileats.com/2022/09/01/how-to-garden-through-climate-change/
#SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeGardening #Compost #Mulch #GardeningForPollinators #Biodiversity
In my opinion the best bee butts belong to wool carder bees (_Anthidium_). They are just so round and cute and completely unmistakable.
Like other bees in the megachilid family, they collect pollen under their abdomens, not on their legs. They also scrape fuzz off the leaves of plants like lamb's ear (_Stachys byzantina_) for their nests, hence the name. They seem to like plants in the mint family in general.
(Inspired by @ater just posting about Megachilidae: https://flipping.rocks/@ater/116940807355074189)
#bugstodon #insects #bees #SolitaryBees #BeeButts #Hymenoptera #Anthophila #Megachilidae
Gardener fears mystery insect beneath strawberries — others say it’s one of the garden’s best helpers https://www.allforgardening.com/1868796/gardener-fears-mystery-insect-beneath-strawberries-others-say-its-one-of-the-gardens-best-helpers-2/ #BurrowingInsect #garden #gardener #gardening #InsectCommunity #LeafcutterBee #reddit #SolitaryBees
Most bees are solitary and don’t live in hives. Climate change risks them starving
#ClimateChange #Bees #SolitaryBees #NativeBees #Pollinators #Biodiversity #Wildlife #Nature #Ecology #Sustainability #Science #HabitatRestoration #Pollination #FoodSecurity
https://the-14.com/most-bees-are-solitary-and-dont-live-in-hives-climate-change-risks-them-starving/
Took a little detour up a residential street on the way to the grocery store today and saw so many different bees!! (Despite the preponderance of traditional neatly manicured Old Italian People lawns.)
Haven't a clue what families/genera most of these are, suggestions welcome!
#bugstodon #insects #bees #NativeBees #SolitaryBees #Hymenoptera #Anthophila #Halictidae #Apidae #Megachilidae
【🎉Latest accepted article】
Plant traits rather than plant phylogenetic and functional diversity drive bee diversity in a #SubtropicalForest
#SolitaryBees | #Cavity_nestingBees | #TrapNests | #PlantDiversity | #LeafArea | #LeafDryMatterContent | #LeafKContent | #BEF_China | #PollinatorConservation
A Common Carder bee (Bombus pascuorum) on vetch today.
#bees also source #water on #plants.
Plants expel excess water and/or nutrients through small openings on leaves and stems through a process known as guttation.
So where do you come in I hear you ask?
Well during warm weather especially it is vital to ensure that…
5/11
#pollinators
#solitarybees
On the international day for celebrating bees, The Bee Guy shares 20 cool facts about these amazing and very much endangered creatures.
#worldbeeday #bees #nature
#worldbeesanctuary #bumblebees
#solitarybees #savethebees
https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/world-bee-day-2026-7045157-May2026/
#BeesNotBillionaires - Clothing for a wilder world.
Not-for-profit. For the planet.
"100% of profits go to #SavingBees, restoring #biodiversity, and protecting the wild places we love.
BEES ARE RAPIDLY DISSAPEARING
Native wild bees are in serious decline with 40% facing extinction and 25% no longer showing up on records worldwide. Many conservation efforts focus on honeybees which are not endangered — it's Bumblebees and Solitary Bees that need our help. Keeping honey bees does not save #Bumblebees and #SolitaryBees and is actually making this already serious problem worse.
81 BILLIONAIRES HAVE MORE WEALTH THAN 50% OF THE WORLD COMBINED
While bee numbers have declined and climate breakdown has become ever more obvious across the planet billionaires have continued to get richer and more numerous. 2024 saw 204 new billionaires and 2025 has seen their influence and power wielded like never before."
Gardeners told to resist mowing lawns as campaign to aid bees returns https://www.allforgardening.com/1745548/gardeners-told-to-resist-mowing-lawns-as-campaign-to-aid-bees-returns/ #BritishGardenCentres #FloweringPlants #garden #GardenCentres #gardeners #gardening #Lawns #SolitaryBees
I have posted others of this recently but this is such a beautiful photo. This Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) is feeding on white horse chestnut flowers.
Another solitary bee. This is a Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis).
This is another nomad bee, even more strikingly beautiful. It is Nomada goodeniana.
A Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava). This is a cuckoo bee which utilises the nests and food stores of Andrena bees. They glide fast and low, giving the impression of a glowing orange sphere.
I bought a pack of kiln dried birch logs (Home Bargains in UK) and picked out the thicker blocks to make a bee house. They are fussy about depth, so I needed auger bits for greater reach. The excavations are around 12cm deep.
These move around rapidly, so this was a lucky shot. It is a male Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes). Here you can clearly see the hair on its legs and the very long snout. It is drinking nectar from Teucrium in my garden. For that it needs a long tongue, as the flower is tubular. The photo also shows the mechanism for dangling pollen, so that it brushes onto the hairs on the back of the bee.
New Ant Lab about GROUND BEEEEEEES (_Andrena_, _Colletes_, _Nomada_) https://youtu.be/jje1LPrsHbc
#bugstodon #insects #bees #NativeBees #SolitaryBees #Hymenoptera #Anthophila #Andrenidae #Colletidae #Apidae
The parasitic bees have timed it just right. This is almost certainly Nomada flava but it has a couple of near identical cousins.
In flight, they are like a fast moving amber sphere.
They are after Andrena bee nests.
I found just one of these, on a dandelion. It was on a mission. It lays its eggs on the larvae of the Hairy-footed Flower Bee, so it has followed them here. It can't feed on the comfrey but it is here because the comfrey is here! It is a Common Mourning Bee (Melecta albifrons).
This is a Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes). It is abundant around these flowers, which are actually an invasive dwarf comfrey from the Mediterranean. This is a female, black all over apart from a tiny patch of orange on the back legs. It is not a bumblebee. It has a very long snout.
This is an Orange-tailed Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa). It is similar to the first bee in the orange glow of the shoulder fur but the body is bare and grey except at the end, where there is a tuft of orange hairs.
A rather spectacular day for solitary bees today. This beautiful insect is a Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva) just emerged and in glowing colours.
My anger right now is righteous. So instead, have some bees.