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The Bee Guy

Apr 1, 2023 • 9 tweets • 8 min read • Read on X

Many people asking us about #bumblebees at the moment - why they’re seeing them on the ground - so here’s a quick thread to explain what they’re up to. Please #retweet as every #queen that survives means a new colony that gets to exist & produce new queen #bees for next year! 1/8

#Bumblebee queens emerge in early spring from #hibernation and immediately need to feed - that’s why early flowering plants are so important. Apart from feeding their mission at this time is to find a suitable site to establish a nest. Hence you will observe queens flying low 2/8

…to the ground zig-zagging across the landscape - they’re house-hunting. Stopping to explore in long grass and vegetation, hollows in trees, stone walls, under sheds and even compost heaps. During this time #bumblebee queens spend a lot of their time resting between flights. 3/8

These between flight stopovers can last for up to an hour and #bees are not always careful about where they take them - sometimes the middle of a footpath can be the ‘ideal’ spot! So if you see a big #bumblebee chilling on the ground don’t always presume she needs rescuing! 4/8

As with sleeping dogs leave resting #bees lie - for up to an hour before intervening. (Unless of course she is in imminent danger whereby she should be carefully moved to a safe place). If after about an hour she is still present then she may need assistance. 5/8

In this case preference is to move her to a nearby source of #nectar - a #flower! If no flowers are nearby she can be offered a 50/50 mix of white sugar and water. NEVER offer her honey as although it would seem to be the obvious action honey can contain pathogens that may 6/8

..be harmful to #bumblebees. Usually once she takes on some sugars & heats up she’ll happily fly off. Don’t bring her indoors for long periods! If she has already established a nest and laid eggs she needs to get back to sit on them before they cool down. 7/8

Thanks for reading/caring.
PLEASE #retweet this forward.
The more informed, the more queens survive and the more #bumblebees we have.
Simple.
Our native wild #bees are in trouble and we need to be there for them every way we can.
Thanks again for helping!
Have a great one. 8/8

Sitting in the company of #birds by the big #pond here on the sanctuary between showers looking at your response to this thread.
I’m not one who does hope, preferring action, but your response has me close.
Thank you.
We go again tomorrow!
Have a great evening.
🙏🏼 people.
🐝

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More from @the_beeguy

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

May 18

Please #retweet/#share for the #bees.🙏🏼🐝

Again let’s talk about #honeybees in the context of ‘Saving the Bees’.
Let’s cut the bull and cut to the chase as there’s way too much confusion/misinformation out there which is a hinderance to & detrimental to genuine bee saving.
1/18

May 20th has been designated World Bee Day by the UN. This date is the birthday of the pioneer of modern beekeeping – Anton Janša.
But maybe in reality it should be World Honey Bee Day & #bumblebees/#solitarybees should get their own day.
‘ENDANGERED BEE DAY’
Why?
Read on.
2/18

Context:
There are 3 basic types of bee on the planet.
#Solitarybees.
#Bumblebees.
#Honeybees.
Of the 20,000+ species of bee only 8 are honey #bees.
Around 40% of bee species are under pressure worldwide.
Honey bees are not in trouble.
Repeat.
Honey bees are not in trouble.
3/18

Read 18 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Apr 20

You knew #bumblebees were friendly but…is that bumblebee actually waving at you?

Please #retweet/#share for the #bees.

When talking to people about bumblebees (which we do a lot!😊) they tend to mistakenly associate them with two things; honey and stings.

Here’s a thread on #stings to set the record straight.
We’ll get to honey another day.

Thanks, as always, good people. 🙏🏼🐝

1/12

Spoiler alert!
Quick version.
It’s not a wave it’s a warning.
One leg up - back off.
2 legs up - seriously back off!
Belly up - wtf dude get the message!
#Bumblebees only sting as a last resort.
Can sting more than once.
Don’t die when they sting.
Males can’t sting!
2/12

#Bumblebees have the capability to sting for sure but being the docile gentle creatures they are they don’t like to use this capability - it’s their nuclear option! The ability to sting is a defence mechanism to defend their nest and themselves if they are being…
3/12
#bees

Read 12 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Apr 7

Sunday Morning with the Queen.

So you’re a queen.
Bee that is.
Bumblebee if you don’t mind.
And you’ve had your furry buff little arse buffeted and soaked by wind and rain since you emerged from hibernation.
Spring they say?
Not around these parts.
Not this year.
You need…
1/4

…a moment.
Somewhere dry and wind free.
To get your shit together.
Yes #bumblebees need those moments too!
And just inside the open door of a polytunnel is the ideal place.
To get off those wings and stretch those legs.
To pause from the constant, relentless search for…
2/4

…flowers (is it just me or are they getting scarcer and scarcer?) and the non-stop house hunting.
And that’s before you even think about egg laying, brooding and keeping all the eventual kids in order.
Yes, sometimes you just need a moment.
To have a good scratch.
A good..
3/4

Read 4 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Apr 6

Queen #BUMBLEBEES - HELP THEM OUT!
Another Spring Saturday morning with @the_beeguy (follow him - he’s good, possibly even the best! 😊) means another vital thread concerning #bumblebee queens at this time of year!
Please #retweet/#share as EVERY QUEEN BEE THAT SURVIVES GETS TO ESTABLISH A NEST that otherwise would not happen. This has knock on effects going forward. Let me explain.
1/11
#bees

#Bumblebees don’t understand glass - they get confused and trapped and exhausted.
And they die.
Likewise with polytunnel plastic.
So if you see or hear a bumblebee buzzing and banging against a window in your house SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP - AND QUICKLY!
She’s in trouble.
2/11

So you need to act fast - don’t leave her suffer while you do something else (with good intentions to get to her at some stage - which you might forget).
Why?
#Bumblebees, even with a full stomach, have about 40 minutes of ‘energy’ in them before…
3/11

Read 11 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Mar 30

As always, many people asking us about #bumblebees at the moment - WHY THEY’RE SEEING THEM ON THE GROUND - so here’s a thread to explain what they’re up to.
Please #retweet.
Every #queen that survives means a new colony that gets to exist & produce new queen #bees for next year!
1/9

Spoiler Alert!
Quick version:
Queens just out of hibernation.
Hungry and house-hunting.
Rest often between flights.
Don’t move or help for an hour unless in immediate danger!
Flowers best option.
50/50 white sugar/water next best option - NOT HONEY!
Don’t bring her inside.
2/9

Read 9 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Nov 19, 2023

It’s winter. The buzzing has stopped - mostly.
So what’s happened to all the #bees?
You’ve been asking…so a quick thread to broadly account for our little friends at this time of year.
Please #retweet and #share.
You know the drill.
The more informed the better for bees. 1/12

And they do need better from us!

Spoiler alert!
Bumbles - new queens in hibernation.
Solitaries - kids in cocoons.
Honeys - small ball of hot hive-bound bees.

So let’s start with honey #bees and get them out of the way as you know they’re not really our thing here.
2/12

#Honeybees don’t hibernate. They reduce the colony numbers but stay active within the hive.
As temperatures drop (below 50ºF) they form a cluster (ball of bees) in the hive in order to use body heat primarily to keep the queen alive. This cluster will have a densely…
3/12