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

[londonrach]

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!

Bees are pretty much all girls. As are ants and wasps! Hardest workers in the animal kingdom, so goes without saying....

Without wanting to brag OP....

....prepares to brag.....

was it my thread that you read?

I rescued one from the bath and fed sugar solution. It was lovely to watch him/her drinking and when she felt strong enough she flew off. Lovely to be a lifesaver!

Worra im saving the full english for when you pop around!!!! (Not to self..must buy eggs, bacon, baked beans and sausages)

Well I'm glad to hear it because to be honest, when I enter your house through your kitchen window, if I'm faced with a sugar solution I'm going to be all like "Fuck this shit, where's the bacon?"

Although I would be mildly impressed with the reading materials offered.

Oh no...it probably wasn't. I never mentioned soaked newspapers even though that's a much more sensible suggestion than a spoonful of sugary water.

Oh well, save the bees everyone! If they become extinct us humans won't be far behind them.

Bees are in serious decline. It has a huge knock on effect.

He wasn't a He. All the out-and-about bees will be females. Males are kept in the hive/nest as drones, and only a few get made in the first place.

Here's one that i was able to photograph a few years ago, when she had first woken in the spring. Yes I know now that I shouldn't have fed her honey. It's easier to find honey than sugar in my house, I'll have to keep some of those canteen sachet things handy.

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Squoosh sorry it wasnt. Newspaper was because the only thing i could think of quickly to scoop up the bee. She did seem to able to take it well off the newspaper. The cruise ad was just lucky... (Wonders if bee read that before flying away). I couldnt take bee out as i live in an upstairs flat so no quick access out. Bee needed energy so sugar solution (remembering mn advice) seemed the best way of doing it. It was very magical seeing it come alive again.

I thought it was bumblebees who died after stinging? I got stung by one on my bottom lip once as it flew into my can of Rio mmm rio

Yesterday I was thinking: if bees are in danger of extinction, why honey costs so little? You can get get value honey for what? A quid? It's not enough.

The honey you buy for a quid in the supermarket is nothing like the honey a beehive at the bottom of your garden would produce.

Supermarket honey is a blend of honey from many countries, some outside the EU where regulations are a bit hit and miss.

Some are not really honey at all.

Proper beekeepers' honey costs around £5, and you need a few hives and good summers to make this hobby pay for itself. I'm doing a beekeeping course atm, will start with my own bees next spring.

Ok, what I have learnt from this thread so far:

• bees sitting on the ground are likely to be tired/weak/cold and it is possible and worthwhile to revive them
• wasps pollinate fruit trees [still reeling from the shock that the assholes may have some uses]
• I want to become a bee keeper

Eating local honey regularly helps prevent pollen allergies btw.

Bumblebees like wasps have an unbarbed sting and can sting repeatedly without dying. A honeybee will die if it stings but will only sting if provoked so stay calm and do not flap! If you want to benefit from the medicinal qualities of honey, buy local stuff not cheap blends. If it has recently been extracted it will be runny but will eventually crystalise. If you put it in the airing cupboard it will go runny again. If you buy runny honey that is perpetually runny(ie in squeezy bottle) it has been boiled to make it stay runny. This process will have killed much of the goodness in the honey. If you want manuka level goodness, try Ulmo or Tineo which is mainly produced in South America and meant to be as good as Manuka but still normal price in supermarkets.
Actually just googled and it seems Tineo prices have rocketed Manuka style but you can still get Ulmo for less than £5.

Aww I do like seeing bumblebees, they look like little fluffy blimps! Wasps on the other hand I always have a can of Raid ready for..

You have all cheered me up no end with all this talk of bees - unfortunately due to watching too many bbc2 programmes with teenage DDs I have developed an unhealthy level of knowledge on insect sex. This thread is doing a great job dragging my mind out of the gutter!

I regularly have to rescue drowning bees from the horses' water in the field - it's lovely to see them dry out then fly away. I didn't know about this sugar solution thing, so will look out for weary, hungry bees from now on!

We have mason bees that live in the little vents in the bricks above the kitchen window. They pack the square holes with what looks like mud and happily buzz in and out. They're solitary bees and return to the same hole each time. Like a little block of bee apartments. Love hearing them gently humming when the sun is out.

Anyway, place marking really as I love bees and a sugar solution thread (probably Squoosh's) helped me save a couple of tired bumbles last year.

Waggle was my bee a mason bee

londonrach, could be, or a black honey bee or a mongrel. She looks a bit messy and soggy
Masonry bees are rather more brown reddish than yellow.

OMG, you get mongrel bees?!

Honestly, this thread is such an education.
I am such a sucker for a mongrel - do you think the local RSPCA sanctuary will have a mongrel bee looking for a home?

Coffee sadly she really liked my sugar solutiin and want for a bath whilst i got my ipad. She spent 10 mins sorting herself out afterwards by licking it all uo whilst her buzz got louder and she tried her wings! Off to google...bee types..mongrel bees, black honey bees...

I raced out last summer to save a bee, tripped, stood on it and poked myself in the eye with the spoon.
I think I might just leave sugary water out this year.

PDW most of the London bees are mongrels, only in very remote locations can you be sure there are no drones from other species around which could mate with your queens.

I'm sure you local beekeeping association has a homeless swarm of mongrels for you

I saw three swarms being collected last week, it's fascinating. They are amazing creatures.

Im not in london anymore. Think she was a fat black honey bee... She was very fluffy after she tided herself up. Seeing her doing it was amazing..