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The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Jun 10, 2023 • 9 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X

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People asking us about the very small #bumblebees they’ve encountered (if they’re lucky this year!😔) over the past few weeks.
Wanting to know if they are a specific species.
So here’s a brief thread to explain what they are.
Please #retweet if you find it interesting.
🙏🏼🐝
1/9

Spoiler Alert: They’re the first brood of worker #bumblebees and they’re all female!

These small bumblebees that you may have seen fitting snuggly into a buttercup as they forage over the past while, very often - depending on species - are in appearance mini versions…
2/9

…of the larger queens that you may have seen out foraging and house hunting in early spring.
Shortly after establishing their nest these queens will have laid their first batch of eggs which they then incubate and when hatched provide food for. Depending on species..
3/9

…it takes roughly four weeks for this first batch of eggs to develop into adult worker #bees.
During this period the queen bee is effectively operating as a solitary bee - she must keep the eggs at the right temperature whilst at the same time forage for food to nourish…
4/9

…herself and then the developing larvae.
And therein lies the reason for the small size of this first batch of workers - adult body size of #bumblebees is primarily determined by the amount of food provisioned during the development of the larvae and these larvae have…
5/9

…only one bee - the queen - seeking and returning food to them.
Once on the wing these small female worker #bumblebees will spend their entire adult lives - around 4 weeks or thereabouts - helping the queen to produce further broods. They will forage, maintain and protect..
6/9

…the nest and nurse the subsequent broods. These subsequent broods tend to produce larger #bees as the queen now has this support network of daughters helping her.

So to recap:
Small #bumblebees out foraging recently are likely the first batch of female workers.
7/9

They’re small mostly due to relying solely on the queen for food when developing.
They’re not a ‘type of bee” but smaller individuals of their species.
They only live as adults for a short time.
They help ensure that subsequent broods develop and are larger in size.
8/9

So big up to these diminutive #bees.

Short lived and small but mighty!

Please pass this on.

Retweet for bees!

Knowledge is power.
But it’s also caring.
Or should be.

Thank you.

Have the best one you can!
🙏🏼🐝
#bumblebees #retweet
9/9

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More from @the_beeguy

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Mar 29

Queen #BUMBLEBEES - HELP THEM OUT!
Another Saturday morning 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. 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 15

It’s that time of year - people asking us about #bumblebees - 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!
So this is important to share.
Thank you.
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

#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 3/9

Read 9 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Nov 10, 2024

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. 1/13

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.
2/13

#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…
3/13

Read 13 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Aug 10, 2024

It’s that time of year again.
What time you ask?
#Bumblebees sleeping on/in #flowers time of year we reply.
Lots of people asking us why?
Here’s a quick (long)🙄 thread explaining what’s going on.

Please #retweet/#share so more are more informed.
Thanks good people.
#bees
1/16

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 father.
Once mature, males leave the nest and never return.
2/16

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

Read 13 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Jul 13, 2024

Forget the elephant in the room. Let’s talk about the #bumblebees in the box.
A thread on the commodification of bumblebees to produce your #food.
The numbers.
Why it’s bad for wild #bees
How they kill them when they’re no longer of use.
Please #share
#Retweet
#ForBees
1/14

Spoiler alert:
#Bumblebees artificially produced to pollinate food crops.
Industry worth 100’s of millions of euros.
Poorly regulated.
Traded across continents.
Bees escape into the wild.
Spread #disease.
Breed with native #bees.
Suffocated when no longer of use.
2/14

The ‘mass production’ of bumblebee colonies for pollination services began in the 80’s.
By 2004 over 1 million commercially produced #bumblebee colonies were being produced annually. Latest figures put this at 2 million colonies being produced and traded across continents…
3/14

Read 14 tweets

The Bee Guy

@the_beeguy

Jun 2, 2024

‘Are these very small #bumblebees we’re seeing out foraging of late (May/early June) a specific species?’

A good question.
Thanks for asking us.

Here’s a brief thread to explain these diminutive beauties.

Please #retweet/#share with your crew.

For the small bumblers.
🙏🏼🐝
1/9

…of the larger queens that you may have seen out foraging and house hunting in early spring.
Shortly after establishing their nest these queens will have laid their first batch of eggs which they then sit on to incubate & when hatched provide food for. Depending on species..
3/9