Bee 'Sleeping' in Cucumber Flower

Fiz 8/15/2017, 1:42 pm

Yesterday evening I was out in the garden checking on the plants when I saw a bee (I think it was a small bumblebee) sticking out of one of my cucumber flowers. I thought it had died in there so I didn't want to take a picture, but I just left it there just in case.

When I woke up in the morning and checked, it was gone. Seems that it was resting in the flower, but what made it really funny was that its bum was sticking out as if the flower closed itself on top of the bee and it couldn't get out. When I saw it yesterday, it was completely motionless.

I read that bees that can't make it back to the hive at night will sometimes camp out in flowers, but the way it was positioned and the size of the flower it chose made it quite comical. Wish I had taken a picture now. Razz

Anyone seen this before?

**Scorpio Rising** 8/15/2017, 9:25 pm

Fiz wrote:Yesterday evening I was out in the garden checking on the plants when I saw a bee (I think it was a small bumblebee) sticking out of one of my cucumber flowers. I thought it had died in there so I didn't want to take a picture, but I just left it there just in case.

When I woke up in the morning and checked, it was gone. Seems that it was resting in the flower, but what made it really funny was that its bum was sticking out as if the flower closed itself on top of the bee and it couldn't get out. When I saw it yesterday, it was completely motionless.

I read that bees that can't make it back to the hive at night will sometimes camp out in flowers, but the way it was positioned and the size of the flower it chose made it quite comical. Wish I had taken a picture now.

Anyone seen this before?

Yes, many times! So cute! Bee 'Sleeping' in Cucumber Flower 2636062189

hammock gal 8/16/2017, 7:56 am

Did you know that it's possible to tickle a sleeping bumblebee? If you catch them sleeping in a blossom in the cool of the morning, before they warm up and are fully awake, you can give them a gentle tickle. Feel their fuzz. They may stick out a leg to say "Hey, what's going on?" But I've never been stung. Here's a pic of one on some cosmos. I don't know that your bumblebee would have appreciated having its bum tickled, but yes, they may often spend the night in a blossom. Very Happy

Bee 'Sleeping' in Cucumber Flower Beetic10

**sanderson** 8/16/2017, 11:41 am

Fiz 8/16/2017, 9:21 pm

Fascinating, thanks for the info! I've definitely become a lot more comfortable around bees since starting SFG. Love watching them work! I updated my profile picture with a bee on one of my Marigold flowers recently.

hammock gal 8/17/2017, 7:10 am

Fiz, I've definitely become more comfortable with them too. I've never found honey bees or bumblebees to be aggressive. They're very industrious and just want to be about their business, collecting pollen. Now, yellow jackets...that's another story. They're just mean! Evil or Very Mad

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