Hoverflies are so sweet, sometimes there’ll be one or two hovering near me and I’ll just stick out a finger for them and they’ll chill there for awhile.
Makes me feel like a Disney princess but with bugs 😊
Where the killer bees?
They’re right behind you.
Dirt Dauber looks like an RPG Munition
Honey bees don’t actually “need help the most”, they’re widely kept for honey production. Solitary wasps (of which there are many species) are much more endangered. Not yellowjackets, though, fuck those guys.
European honey bees are an invasive species in a lot of places. They’re actually part of the problem because they are imported for our use and crowd out the native bees.
This is also not at all comprehensive. There are many thousands of species of wasps and native bees. Not to mention all the yellow stripy flies that mimic wasps.
Yellow jackets are generalist predators. As long as they aren’t making a nest somewhere real close to where you want to be, they are good at killing a whole lot of pests.
I think it was meant as in ‘we need to build them hives and stuff’ who knows. Definitely don’t need much help, those guys
Wait I can PET BUMBLEBEES?!
Definitely, I boop them all the time in the spring when they are swarming the flowers.
They’re floofy!
Bumblebees are pretty gentle, and whereas I used to be extremely scared of bees (and especially bumblebees because of their size), I find them adorable to observe up-close now that I’ve gotten over my fear.
However, the question I would ask regarding petting is: why? When I pet a household dog or a cat, it’s ideally because I think it comforts them, and at worst (if they’re mildly annoyed and I don’t realize), it’s never going to harm them.
For the bee, though, it’s probably strictly uncomfortable for them to have a being 50,000 times their size come up and start putting pressure on them. (Bumblebees can distinguish noxious stimuli, but they do still respond somewhat to regular tactile stimulation; see p.3.)
Their wings and legs are fragile, and it’s not like they can’t be accidentally provoked into stinging you. If they’re just minding their own business, it’s really best to leave them alone, because at best you’re annoying/not comforting them, and at worst you’re physically harming them.
TL;DR: Bumblebees are really cool, but just treat them like you’d treat other wild animals that don’t want to be touched; that you can get so close to them and watch is already a blessing.
That’s a really well argued paragraph. But have you considered: why pet shaped if not for petting?
(Jokes aside though. Point taken. But there’s nothing you can say to keep me from talking to them in baby talk from now on when I’m out gardening amongst them. Who’s a big stripey boy? Yes you are, aren’t you? :))
I let one crawl on my finger and it just chilled there for minutes :3
I love watching the carpenter bees at my house. The ones that are on patrol follow the most exact flight patterns, it’s crazy. They always fly the same narrow lane, same height, stop and hover at the same spot for the same length of time. It’s amazing to watch.
This would be welcome on [email protected] (which sorely needs content)!
I had carpenter bees at my old house that were so tame I could grab them out of the air and pet them.
They forgot the tarantula hawk
Tarantula hawk wasps are relatively docile and rarely sting without provocation, but the sting—particularly that of P. grossa—is among the most painful of all insects, though the intense pain only lasts about five minutes.
Okay can I actually pet bumblebees or is this just a meme?
Yes, but you still have to bee careful.
