Thread by @the_beeguy

Mornin’ folks.

We’ve had a lot of people enquiring about and commenting on #bumblebees asleep on #flowers, especially at this time of year, so here’s a quick (long)🙄 thread explaining what’s going on.

Please retweet so more are more informed.
Thanks good people.
#bees
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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.
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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

…foraging in inclement weather or too late & losing light, low energy & 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..
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…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…
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…mother the queen. When developing as larvae they require more food and for a longer time period than female worker larvae. Ironically later in their short lives males will never forage for pollen and nectar to contribute to the nest but concentrate on foraging for nectar…
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…for themselves.
Once mature they leave the nest. Unlike workers and queens on leaving the nest they don’t perform learning flights to memorise its location but fly directly away never looking back and never to return. They will disperse far from the nest - up to 6 miles -
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…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

…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…
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…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…
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…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

…of the tibia that is. (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…
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…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 & predation & males have no stinger to defend themselves. They can’t sting! 13/16

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…
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…(although fed better as larvae & then not tasked with contributing to the nest as adults) live a lonely homeless life constantly seeking a mate which most never find. And the final kicker - they never produce sons and never get to meet the daughters they do help produce.
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Hope this provides a little bit of insight and creates a little more #empathy towards these wonderful creatures.

Thanks for reading.

Please share to spread further the knowledge.
#retweet

And please do still dream of sleeping in #flowers.

Have a great one!
#bees
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