Bumblebees

Big fat ones, little tiny ones. Dozens of them. They just love our flowers. I did some research, I didn't know that they are major pollinators, but they don't make honey.

I like those bumblers. My favorite bees. They are comical with their clumsy flight.

Not aggressive either.

Myth has it that they are aerodynamically impossible. Don't know why that myth keeps hanging on - my observations tell me differently - they can fly like crazy.

They are also not aggressive in the least I was watching probably 100 of them on our flowers out front, taking closeup photos, etc., they cared not.

Yeah, they are fun to hang around. They don't seem threatened by our presence at all. They just bump around from flower to flower. They are entertaining to watch.

That story about aerodynamically impossible reminds me of another which may be true or false and that is that without the powder on the wings, a moth cannot fly. Don't know if that is true or not.

My garden is full of them. Maybe as many as 15 different species, including some that shouldn't be here, ones probably escaped from commercial greenhouses.

My sunflowers are covered with bumble bees at the moment. I almost got smacked in the head the other afternoon by an enormous bumble bee. It was a huge species. It was so covered in pollen all over its body and its pollen sacks on its legs (like bicycle panniers) were so overflowing with pollen that it was struggling to get lift as it launched off a sunflower. It was going to collide with my forehead if I did not duck. I ducked.

If you want to encourage bees in general and especially bumble bees, plant beds of oregano. Bees love the tiny oregano flowers. Oregano is low maintenance - doesn't need much attention at all - doesn't need particularly good soil - doesn't need a lot of water - but it spreads - it is in reality a weed of sorts. Sunflowers are also good because they can last quite far in the fall.

Bumble bees are homeothermic - I hesitate say warm blooded because that is not technically correct - they maintain their body temperature independently of the environment by shivering to become warm enough to fly. This is why bumble bees are the first bees out in the spring, first bees out in the morning, last bees out in the fall, last bees out in the evening, the only bees out in the rain, and the only bees in northern climates. Other bees rely on environmental temperature to get their body up to a temperature where flight is possible.

There are lots online resources on how to make bumble bee nests if you want to encourage them to set up home in your garden. They generally do not build their own nesting cavities. They apparently love disused mouse nests.

Interesting book:

Canard said:

If you want to encourage bees in general and especially bumble bees, plant beds of oregano. Bees love the tiny oregano flowers. Oregano is low maintenance - doesn't need much attention at all - doesn't need particularly good soil - doesn't need a lot of water - but it spreads - it is in reality a weed of sorts. Sunflowers are also good because they can last quite far in the fall.

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They're all over my oregano, too. At the end of the growing season I take my potted oregano, rosemary, and thyme and stick them in the ground at various locations. They (sometimes) survive the winter in my USDA Zone 7a and I've noticed bumblebees and other pollinators really like the thyme and oregano.

I have a large patch of mint that I struggle to contain every year and when in bloom it is absolutely covered in native bees, domesticated bees, wasps, and pollinating flies. At the height of the activity you can hear a distinct hum coming from the mint patch from all the insects in there.

Moths don't need the powder to fly apparently. But "rubbing it off" does or could damage the wings.


The bumblebees shouldn't fly myth seems to be based upon a belief that they flap their wings up and down. In reality they move side by side.

Down here they love Mexican heather. I always have a big herd of bumblebees.

I didn't know they all die off in winter except the queen.

We have two large azalea bushes and a cherry blossom tree in our front yard. We've always had dozens and dozens of "bumble bees". This year, for whatever reason, at most I have counted is 6 or 8. In the back of our house we have a large patch of trumpet flowers. Usually we have a couple of dozen of the smaller bees working the flowers. I'm hoping this is only a one year glitch with the bees.

A couple things I have noticed over the years:
1. The big bumble bees can be orange / black or yellow black. The appear to have different markings also.

2. I noticed the big bumble bees on flowers, not moving for a long time.....motionless. I come back a half hour or so and they are gone. Only thing I can think of is they gorge themselves on nectar and get a sugar high and "pass out".

Tom

silverfox103 said:

We have two large azalea bushes and a cherry blossom tree in our front yard. We've always had dozens and dozens of "bumble bees". This year, for whatever reason, at most I have counted is 6 or 8. In the back of our house we have a large patch of trumpet flowers. Usually we have a couple of dozen of the smaller bees working the flowers. I'm hoping this is only a one year glitch with the bees.

A couple things I have noticed over the years:
1. The big bumble bees can be orange / black or yellow black. The appear to have different markings also.

2. I noticed the big bumble bees on flowers, not moving for a long time.....motionless. I come back a half hour or so and they are gone. Only thing I can think of is they gorge themselves on nectar and get a sugar high and "pass out".

Tom

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I have wondered for a very long time, in your avatar are you petting an alligator?

If so, why?

Opsimath said:

I have wondered for a very long time, in your avatar are you petting an alligator?

If so, why?

Click to expand...

Hey, alligators need love too.

Opsimath said:

I have wondered for a very long time, in your avatar are you petting an alligator?

If so, why?

Click to expand...

No I am not petting the alligator, I am applying the "gotcha hold". Applying pressure to a certain area, renders the gator immobile and harmless. I learned the "gotcha hold" from Stanley "Killer" Kowalski on saturday morning wrestling, many many years ago. It works every time. No harm is done to the gator, within 5 minutes of releasing the hold, he's back to his normal aggressive self.

That avatar is probably 4 or 5 years old, I was still on top of my game. I still do it on occasion but I worry about loosing a step one of these years. That picture is probably not too far you, about an hour south of Jacksonville. We're snowbirds in coastal GA; I would be glad to show you how it's done, if you have any interest. It's easy and safe.

Tom

And I almost though dread started a guitar related discussion about those...



Ralf

SFIV1967 said:

And I almost though dread started a guitar related discussion about those...



Ralf

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That bumblebee is only seen in the Babarian Alps....extremely rare.

Tom

223 G Ohms, 5% tolerance

dreadnut said:

223 G Ohms, 5% tolerance

Click to expand...

For resistors yes, but it's actually a Sprague bumble bee capacitor as used in many vintage guitars in that case...


22,000 pF (=22nF=0.022mF) 10% tolerance 400V

Ralf

silverfox103 said:

No I am not petting the alligator, I am applying the "gotcha hold". Applying pressure to a certain area, renders the gator immobile and harmless. I learned the "gotcha hold" from Stanley "Killer" Kowalski on saturday morning wrestling, many many years ago. It works every time. No harm is done to the gator, within 5 minutes of releasing the hold, he's back to his normal aggressive self.

That avatar is probably 4 or 5 years old, I was still on top of my game. I still do it on occasion but I worry about loosing a step one of these years. That picture is probably not too far you, about an hour south of Jacksonville. We're snowbirds in coastal GA; I would be glad to show you how it's done, if you have any interest. It's easy and safe.

Tom

Click to expand...

Well, I admit I'm curios where and how it works. Whether or not I would ever try it on a real alligator is a whole 'nother matter. I had to google Mr. Kowalski as I wasn't familiar with the name. Did he teach you in person, or was there a TV demonstration?

Saw this article on the Wall Street Journal . Don't know if it is viewable,let me know if it isn't.


Tom

I always seem to have a large bumblebee population, they cover my bottlebrush trees, Mexican heather and honeysuckle. I have Encore azaleas which bloomed nicely last month and they went after those. The wife noticed lots of bees on the bottlebrush today, and some bumblebees but lots of honeybees.

I avoid using any pesticides or herbicides, except for fire ant mounds. Fire ants must die.