Bumble bees In Trouble

**Scorpio Rising** 9/22/2016, 1:51 pm

More bad news about our world in peril; neonicitinoids should be banned ASAP! Plant habitat for these fuzzy, docile pollinators, there are fading fast... Sad

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/environmentalists-sue-to-list-bumble-bee-as-endangered/

We are messing things up at an alarming rate.

**sanderson** 9/22/2016, 4:14 pm

I read that last night and almost posted it! I cherish the single BB I get each summer.

countrynaturals 9/22/2016, 4:39 pm

sanderson wrote:I read that last night and almost posted it! I cherish the single BB I get each summer.

We've had a few, but not many. Sad

landarch 9/23/2016, 9:47 am

I had tons of bumble bees early in the year when catmint and coneflowers were blooming...haven't seen one in a while.

**trolleydriver** 9/23/2016, 10:54 am

Over the past couple of weeks there have been a lot of BBs in our gardens. Maybe they've just moved further north. Very Happy

But on serious note is is scary to see the decline as reported.

CapeCoddess 9/23/2016, 12:41 pm

I have a lot of BBs right now. I love you

They are fighting at the hummingbird feeders and having a ball with the gaura and zinnias.

Scorpio Rising wrote:

We are messing things up at an alarming rate.

As evidence by the diabetes, cancer, etc epidemics.
Sad

CC

countrynaturals 9/23/2016, 1:01 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:I have a lot of BBs right now. They are fighting at the hummingbird feeders and having a ball with the gaura and zinnias.

Scorpio Rising wrote:

We are messing things up at an alarming rate.

As evidence by the diabetes, cancer, etc epidemics.

CC

Don't forget autism and alzheimer's. Sad

**Scorpio Rising** 9/23/2016, 8:51 pm

landarch wrote:I had tons of bumble bees early in the year when catmint and coneflowers were blooming...haven't seen one in a while.

Ditto. Glad to hear others with some sightings!

countrynaturals 3/22/2017, 1:18 pm

Bumble Bees are now on the endangered species list. Sad

I have flower seeds from the last several years that I couldn't plant because of the drought. I think I'll start a new "zombie garden" with all those seeds thrown on top of wood chips and watered down. There's a spot out in the orchard area where we see the bumbles every year. Fingers crossed they come back again this year and we have lots of flowers for them to play in. I love you

audrey.jeanne.roberts 3/23/2017, 9:41 pm

We are very fortunate that we have quite a lot of bumble bees. We have an interesting variety that is quite large and totally black. I call them my secret service bees (you know always traveling around in huge black vehicles, lol!)

I get a huge amount of seeds at the end of the season each year from a company that pulls them for date. Last year a large amount of them were flowers so I'm going to see about planting more of my hillsides with them. You can never have too many pollinators.

countrynaturals 4/6/2017, 11:06 am

Neighbor's lavender is now loaded with bumble bees, but they're all tiny. They're cute, fat, and energetic, but only the size of a very small grape -- half the size of a honeybee. I've never seen them this small, but at least there are lots of them.

**camprn** 4/6/2017, 12:24 pm

countrynaturals wrote:Neighbor's lavender is now loaded with bumble bees, but they're all tiny. They're cute, fat, and energetic, but only the size of a very small grape -- half the size of a honeybee. I've never seen them this small, but at least there are lots of them.

A smaller species of bee .

countrynaturals 4/7/2017, 11:36 am

camprn wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:Neighbor's lavender is now loaded with bumble bees, but they're all tiny. They're cute, fat, and energetic, but only the size of a very small grape -- half the size of a honeybee. I've never seen them this small, but at least there are lots of them.
A smaller species of bee .

I can't find any mention of size, so here's the stupid question of the day: Could they be babies? Do bees grow? Embarassed

BeetlesPerSqFt 4/7/2017, 11:46 am

countrynaturals wrote:
camprn wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:Neighbor's lavender is now loaded with bumble bees, but they're all tiny. They're cute, fat, and energetic, but only the size of a very small grape -- half the size of a honeybee. I've never seen them this small, but at least there are lots of them.
A smaller species of bee .
I can't find any mention of size, so here's the stupid question of the day: Could they be babies? Do bees grow?

A real beekeeper is likely to make some minor corrections on this, particular on some of my terminology, but:

Nope, not babies. Bees are one of the types of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis: they go from an egg, to a grub-like youngster, to a pupa, and then a full-size adult bee. Baby bees are grubs. The grown-up bees feed the grubs, each one has a cell in - well - a honeycomb that is for baby bee grubs, not honey. They get fed honey for energy, and pollen for protein. Once the babies are ready to pupate, the adult bees cap them in their cell for privacy. And when they are done pupating, the pupae become adults and chew their way out of the cell (through the cap.) Adults can vary a little in size (and a queen is bigger than a worker), but they don't get any bigger.

countrynaturals 4/7/2017, 1:13 pm

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:
camprn wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:Neighbor's lavender is now loaded with bumble bees, but they're all tiny. They're cute, fat, and energetic, but only the size of a very small grape -- half the size of a honeybee. I've never seen them this small, but at least there are lots of them.
A smaller species of bee .
I can't find any mention of size, so here's the stupid question of the day: Could they be babies? Do bees grow?
A real beekeeper is likely to make some minor corrections on this, particular on some of my terminology, but:

Nope, not babies. Bees are one of the types of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis: they go from an egg, to a grub-like youngster, to a pupa, and then a full-size adult bee. Baby bees are grubs. The grown-up bees feed the grubs, each one has a cell in - well - a honeycomb that is for baby bee grubs, not honey. They get fed honey for energy, and pollen for protein. Once the babies are ready to pupate, the adult bees cap them in their cell for privacy. And when they are done pupating, the pupae become adults and chew their way out of the cell (through the cap.) Adults can vary a little in size (and a queen is bigger than a worker), but they don't get any bigger.

Thanks for the info, Beetles. I just did another search and still can't find any mention of size. These are barely half as big as what we usually get, but huge quantities, unlike the onesy-twosies we normally see. Ah well. Maybe I'll stumble onto the answer somewhere in my travels. geek

BeetlesPerSqFt 4/7/2017, 4:08 pm

countrynaturals wrote:Neighbor's lavender is now loaded with bumble bees, but they're all tiny. They're cute, fat, and energetic, but only the size of a very small grape -- half the size of a honeybee. I've never seen them this small, but at least there are lots of them.

I skimmed through the bees at bugguide.net, looking for bees that looked like a bumblebee but were smaller, and were found in CA and were found in CA around this time of year.

Two struck me as being more likely, both are in the genus Anthophora, digger bees:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/916696/bgpage
Anthorphora pacifica (which doesn't seem to have a designated common name, but whom we could call Pacific digger bee, or Peaceful digger bee)

And when I found the second I almost decided not to mention the first. The common name for this one is Bumblebee-Mimic Anthophora! What a Face

http://bugguide.net/node/view/108945/bgimage?from=24

There are quite a few other species of digger bees, mostly furry and small, with variations in coloration, etc. Without a photo to go on, this group would be my best guess for identifying your busy, buzzy visitors.

CapeCoddess 4/7/2017, 5:17 pm

Ohhh...they're SO cute!!! I love you

**sanderson** 4/7/2017, 9:44 pm

CC, That is what I was going to say! They're so cute!

countrynaturals 4/8/2017, 3:39 am

They are adorable. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.

**sanderson** 5/21/2017, 8:29 pm

Bumble bee nests!

https://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/habitats/bumblebee-nests/

**Scorpio Rising** 5/21/2017, 9:25 pm

sanderson wrote:Bumble bee nests!

https://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/habitats/bumblebee-nests/

Cool! I dont think i have ever seen one....

**sanderson** 5/22/2017, 2:15 am

Here is a nest found in a SFG bed during spring amending! Bumble bees In Trouble Bee_bu10

The gardener put up a sign identifying the nest. Bumble bees In Trouble Bee_bu11

**trolleydriver** 5/22/2017, 7:49 am

One summer we had bumblebees nesting under our concrete steps at the rear side of the house. The stairs are like a big block, sealed on all sides, and hollow underneath. The bees got to the nest though a small hole in the dirt beside the stairs. The stairs were located in a cool shaded area which got sun only in the late afternoon/evening. As well, they are close to Mrs TDs flower gardens and the fish pond. This all fits in with what the article posted by sanderson states about location for a nest.

**Scorpio Rising** 5/22/2017, 9:16 am

They are sooooo cute!

claricenightspirit 5/22/2017, 3:46 pm

What bees are the ones who live in wood,chew the wood and leave a pile of sawdust below the wood they were chewing? They have the same colors and markings as a bumble bee. Bumble bees In Trouble 3170584802

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