The other evening I found a large bumble bee spreadeagled flat on my living room floor. I used a sheet of paper to slide under her and lift her to safety but she was pretty well unresponsive other than one leg waved slightly.
Remembering what a bee keeper frend had once told me I quickly mixed up some sugar and water in a tea spoon and nudged it towards her head. After a few minutes I saw her proboscis appear and start supping the sugar water. After another five minutes she started to react and she stood up more firmly on her legs. Then she started to flex her wings so I carefully took her outside whereaupon she leapt into the air and performed a series of increasing circles before flying off where I know not.
Remember without bees there will be no humans. Be kind to bees.
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BobD
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Well done Bob, my husband and myself have also used this when we came across poor queen bee last summer, it was beautiful to see her recover and fly away.
How kind is that of you? I love the summer bumble bees. All part of this wonderful world of nature. We are so blessed to share our existence with them. We take so much for granted. You must have felt very content knowing that you had saved a little life.
We have lots of bees in our garden. I've rescued 2 like this very recently, one of them I found motionless on the carpet. I just put a pile of caster sugar next to them and leave them to it. They always fly away not longer after !
It certainly picked the right home! Love bees ! Have done this recently too - the heat we have been having ( here in France) is exhausting them. A little sugared water helps them along.
that's greatvto hear I do that I read somewhere that the smallest creatures are more important to the planet than the bigger creatures especially true of bees a bee fell in my horses water bucket once I fished him out and watched him he kept flapping his wings till dry the flew off
oh right didn't know that have a resident hedgehog lived in my garden for 3 years now always refer to him as a he ivnever seen little ones so just assumingvhes a he has a hedgehog house in the garden to go in so lucky he's stayed around
Funnily enough having been here twenty years with no Mr Tickles (hedghogs) this year we have two who visit each evening and hoover up any bird seed, peanuts etc on the ground under our feeding stations. One evening they was facing each other shuffling round in circles grunting loudly. Wasn't sure if it was a dispute or mating dance but last night I saw quite a small one so who knows? At least it shows the badgers have moved out.
ah aren't you lucky two of them leave few purina chicen cat biscuits out for him and a bowl of water every night he's always there just as it goes dark I'd really miss him if he moved out our cat dosent mind him being there
Great bee-haviour Bob. It may have been exhausted after a bout of bee-ectopics, Bob-The-Bee-Savior to the rescue. I’ll remember the tea spoon trick, thanks for sharing.
Good tip Bob - thank you! With this warm spell its easy for them to get dehydrated too. I must start putting out little flower pot saucers with gravel (so they don't drown) and topped up with water. Don't know where I got this tip from. Might actually have been this forum 😀
Bob, goodness, where was the cardiac resuscitation?
Actually, I did just this and with similar results the other week. I used honey and water but have since been told sugar is safer.
My elderly friend does a strange thing. He gingerly picks the bee up, places it on his palm and breathes on it. Several times, he tells me this has worked. Last week his daughter did the same, with success. The breath of life.
I just put a drop of honey or maple syrup next to the bee.
A man went into a second hand shop and said: "I've noticed the record you have in the window titled 'Wasp noises of the world'. I'm the world's foremost expert on Wasp noises and would like to hear it please."
The shopkeeper put the record on a turntable and played it. Zzzeeee! Bzzzzzz! Zubzubzub! went the record. The man looked puzzled and said: "well I'm an expert in the field and I don't recognise a single one of those noises!"
The shopkeeper looked at the record and said: Oh sorry! .....
I adore bees and am always photographing them covered in pollen in flowers & sucking nectar with proboscis - yes that was the correct thing to do BobD thanks - just wish more people knew this & would do it. No need to be afraid of them (particularly in that state - you saved a life BobD x
Have had to do this a couple of times over recent years. My friend keeps bees (3 hives on her garage roof) and they are amazing little things.I just wished I liked honey as hers is supposed to be lovely.
Hi BobD, I’ve never heard of that, but fantastic to have helped a bee, we definitely need to protect bees! I will remember to do that in future if necessary, 🐝🐝
I recently learnt that seedless oranges are that way because the farmers of said fruit are not kind to bees. So i shall not be buying seedless oranges anymore.
amazing. I have similar tale out in garden years ago. I dolloped a spoon of honey near by and same happened. It’s a simple but miraculous thing. Take care 🦊x
That's really good,we try to save bees whenever we can, if out and about we out on Flowers or where can get nectar, I did see some one put a post on line about a little bee saving kit a teeny bottle of sugary water that goes on a key Ring that can be used when out and about
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