To bee or not to.....

Lovely...and despite the weather there are so many bees around..??

I saved one the other day, it was looking very sad in the porch so I gave it a good drink of sugar water and it flew away.

We seem to have more this year, thank goodness, many of them the white-tailed bees.
It's fascinating to watch them collecting the pollen on their hind legs to take back to feed the others!

Yes, sugar water is a good tip to revive a flagging bee which has been trapped indoors. They will drink it from a teaspoon.

Helped this one on his way from daughter's conservatory. Complete with full nectar sacs on his legs.

Wow, Gonegirl I’ve never seen that!

Yesterday I discovered that I had one behind my shoulder when it stung me! I couldn't reach to brush it off so had to strip off my top to deposit the bee in the garden. Fortunately I have a little sponge on a handle so used it to apply some Anthisan which stopped the stinging. I still like bees!
I have several bug hotels in my garden and love watching the solitary bees filling the cells, especially the leaf-cutters taking circles from rose or laurel leaves and rolling them up into the holes.

That is one fully bagged up bee. Haha

I get distressed at the amount of bumblebees that I see lying about dead or dying on the pavements round here, as I walk about.

I always try to plant the patio pots with all pollinator friendly plants, and I have an allotment with fruit and all sorts of berries, which they love, especially the raspberries.

I always try to give them honey? Perhaps that is too strong, what concentration is sugar water..

That is a tree bumblebee. We have had quite a few in our garden.
this article tells you all about them.
I love bees since living over the wall from a man who kept honey bees in hives in his garden.

Just some sugar and water, no specific concentration required . At least I don’t think so.

Gonegirl, the orange baggage you see in the image you took is pollen, and quite a bit of it- Bees drink the nectar they collect and store it in a nectar stomach for transport- If the bees become hungry they can transfer some of it to their regular stomach-

Beautiful creatures .. They need every bit of support we can offer them ..

I just put a little sugar on a teaspoon, add warm water, let it cool and hold the teaspoon in front of the bee. It will drink from the spoon.
They are loving our raspberry flowers at the moment but this very wet weather is not good.

I think that's the pollen in the sacs, Gonegirl, they swallow the nectar and take both back to the nest. The pollen feeds the babies.

oh that is magic!!!

DGD was fascinated and giggling as she watched the bees in the petunias. Loved to see them disappear into the blooms with 'just their wee bums sticking out'!! She also judged the winner of the competition to see which collected most pollen!

Spot the bee!

Like!

Most excellent!

Lisagran
Oh! What a perfect picture.
Thanks.

mcem

Ahhh! Sweet.
I like bees and even wasps.

Gonegirl
Wow! That's some baggage. You'd never get on easyJet with that lot.