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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to be proud i remembered mn advice and feed a hungry bee

91 replies

londonrach · 15/05/2015 12:30

Just popped into the kitchen and saw a bee crawling along the floor. I saw said bee yesterday but thought it had flown away. Remembering mn advice i quickly made up a sugar solution and using newspaper dipped it in the solution. Ran to get my ipad to take a photo. On return found bee in bowl covered in solution. Have placed bee on window sill now to dry out with the solution and watching it lick its back and drinking the solution. Its now buzzing and sounding more bee like! Bees saved one!

Aibu to be proud i remembered mn advice and feed a hungry bee
Aibu to be proud i remembered mn advice and feed a hungry bee
OP posts:
CoffeeBeanie · 15/05/2015 16:45

Bees are very very hairy. Little flying furballs.
Wasps have clearly distinguishable stripes.

PacificDogwood · 15/05/2015 17:46

Wasps pollinate fruit trees? Really?! Shock

wtffgs · 15/05/2015 17:55

Bee-loody marvellous!
Another lentil-weaving, porridge-knitting, hand-wringing, bleeding-heart liberal job to add to my list of things to feel guilty about do!Grin

DoTheDuckFace · 15/05/2015 18:07

Ohh I am so going to try this. and get stung by a pissed off wasp when I get confused

GeekyQueen · 15/05/2015 18:07

Grin at "just an arsehole"

Well done OP. We always rescue bees lying on the pavement so they don't get squished, never thought about feeding them. Poor bees!

Marvs · 15/05/2015 18:16

We have a hive in the back garden, it's fascinating watching them go about their business.

We still feed sugar water to the stragglers but also have set up bowls of water with rocks in it just in case they get thirsty ??

BuzzardBird · 15/05/2015 18:34

Wssps are indeed pollinators and very important especially during times of low bee population.

goddessofsmallthings · 15/05/2015 19:37

I spotted a waterlogged bee struggling in a pond. Waded in, scooped it up in cupped hands before it went down for the third time and, just as I was about to gently place it on a broad leaf to dry out, the ungrateful bugger stung me Grin

I'd do it again in a heartbeat but would try to wear gloves or wrap my hands in something first.

rollmeover · 15/05/2015 20:12

This is ace! Will be feeding our bees this summer!

Original poster
londonrach · 15/05/2015 20:15

Godness...sadly bee sting means the bee dies! Well done for trying. Our bees are so rare now everyone is worth saving. I really wish everyone had seen this bee as he came too. From his quiet crawling across the kitchen floor i saw him test every wing and suck up the sugar water whilst his buzz getts louder! Hearing a quiet bee suddenly buzz makes you realise how bad this bee was.... You had to see this miracle!

OP posts:
HeeHiles · 15/05/2015 22:57

Another lentil-weaving, porridge-knitting, hand-wringing, bleeding-heart liberal job to add to my list of things to feel guilty about do

You made me laugh! I'm thinking the same thing like 'wait 'til my mates hear about this one!' They already think I've lost the plot with my boycotts and one woman protests against huge corporations!

BubGal thanks for the link, will be carrying around a solution in my handbag from now on Grin

Could I just put a little (sugar solution) puddle around the bee on the pavement, which is where I usually see them - feel sad I didn't realise they just needed a drink Sad

HeeHiles · 15/05/2015 23:00

Aww London this is a great thread, thank you for sharing - I had no idea but will be making sure everyone I know carries around a sugar solution for the bees Flowers

Littlefluffyclouds81 · 15/05/2015 23:04

I tried this last year. Got a shallow lid filled with a sugar solution and put it next to a bee that was marooned on the floor.

The bee got in the lid, rolled around a bit, and died :(

I'm hoping it was an old bee on its way out anyway rather than something I did.

HeeHiles · 15/05/2015 23:06

R.I.P Little bee Sad

Don't feel bad Little fluffy you did all you could Smile

Gileswithachainsaw · 15/05/2015 23:08
Grin

aw how lovely. well doneSmile

toddlerwrangling · 15/05/2015 23:08

Some wasps do - Pacific google fig wasp! It will blow your mind! Grin

MaidOfStars · 15/05/2015 23:10

sadly bee sting means the bee dies
Not all bees. Bumbles are fine as long as you don't reflexively smash them

CoffeeBeanie · 15/05/2015 23:14

Little, the foraging worker bees die on the wing. They are the ones most likely for us to find now. I don't think you did anything wrong, they are worn out and die anyway.
Sometimes young bees get lost or tired and can be revived with sugary solutions, and it's great to see how they are revived and take off.

Most of the wasps are indeed assholes and they invade bee hives to steal honey and kill bees to feed their young. Wasps are evil, they sting without being in danger.

TwartFaceBeetj · 15/05/2015 23:24

What a lovely thread. I've saved a bumble bee before, it is fascinating to watch.
My little bumble did all the the warms ups then shot a shit out just before taking off Grin

(I think it was poo it definitely squirted something out)

Opi · 15/05/2015 23:25

Sometimes if it's chilly bees like to have a warm huff of air aka breath on them as they can't take off if their wings are too cold. Even tanked up on the white stuff they won't be able to take flight. If you cup your hand round the bee and huff it can give them a warm up and they're off, even if the air is cooler.

Don't breathe in too hard before you huff though. Could all go wrong.

Littlefluffyclouds81 · 15/05/2015 23:26

Ok thanks, I will try again if I spot any more this year and hope this time it's not an OAP bee.

The worst bit was I excitedly told my 4 year dd that we were going to save that bee and we both stood round watching it die its sticky death :( bit of an anticlimax really.

HayDayRookie · 15/05/2015 23:27

I keep Bees and don't really mind wasps, they do try really. The mice seem to raid my hives more?.
I had a bumble bee dive head first into our pool TWICE. Silly little fella.

Maryz · 15/05/2015 23:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RitaCrudgington · 15/05/2015 23:35

DS is an obsessive invertebrate rescuer. This thread has inspired me to be a bit more cooperative. I did end up feeding sugar water to a poorly ladybird once at his insistence after Google convinced me that it was an adequate substitute for aphids.

CoffeeBeanie · 16/05/2015 00:13

Maryz it will most likely be a she Grin

Sometimes they get caught out by rain, cold, or are inexperienced foragers who are too weak to fly to the nearest flowers to feed himself.