7 August 2023
If you happen to’re now not on X, previously referred to as Twitter, you ignored this very informative thread about the explanation why local bumblebees sleep on plant life in July (and August).
The thread used to be posted on 22 July by means of The Bee Man @the_beeguy, Paul Handrick, describing the habits of untamed bees in past due summer season. It catapulted him to repute and brought about an editorial in The Irish Occasions about The Bee Sanctuary of Eire, based by means of Handrick and his spouse Claire-Louise Donelan. It’s the one wild bee sanctuary in the world.
Handrick’s data may be very well timed and, as a result of I’ve but to search out it any place else, I’ve embedded @the_beeguy’s thread underneath. The social media platform on X, previously referred to as Twitter, is in flux so I don’t know the way lengthy his thread will probably be to be had. (I’ve spotted that it may take a little time for the tweets to return in.) Learn it whilst you’ll be able to! It’s value it.
And take a look at The Irish Occasions: The Wicklow couple with the arena’s handiest wild bee sanctuary: ‘They’re in bother’.
Spoiler alert:
To sleep on a flower would possibly seem romantic and magical however the fact can appear extra tragic than magic for the bumblebees concerned.Flower drowsing #bumblebees are essentially men.
They don’t have a dad.
As soon as mature, men go away the nest and not go back.
2/16 percent.twitter.com/7LJQkX7sSs— The Bee Man (@the_beeguy) July 22, 2023
…foraging in inclement climate or too past due & dropping mild, low power & herbal finish of existence. However presently of 12 months – mid to past due summer season – you might understand a large building up in ‘flower sleepers’ and these kinds of will probably be men. So let’s check out male #bumblebees..
4/16 percent.twitter.com/5NOVi1UTUV— The Bee Man (@the_beeguy) July 22, 2023
…mom the queen. When creating as larvae they require extra meals and for an extended time frame than feminine employee larvae. Paradoxically later of their brief lives men won’t ever forage for pollen and nectar to give a contribution to the nest however be aware of foraging for nectar…
6/16 percent.twitter.com/ShCRQ7Cz1P— The Bee Man (@the_beeguy) July 22, 2023
…to keep away from inbreeding (bear in mind some people ?).
That is the place the ‘flower drowsing’ begins. Having no properties those men will now spend their days actively looking for a brand new queen to mate with and meals to maintain themselves. They’re going to go back and forth as much as 17 kilometres in one day…8/16 percent.twitter.com/2nVEkU2cNI— The Bee Man (@the_beeguy) July 22, 2023
…explicit top personal tastes at which they patrol spreading their queen attracting odor. Some paintings their magic within the tree tops whilst others are extra right down to earth! In spite of mating being their raison d’être the unhappy truth is that only a few men (estimates put it at much less…
10/16 percent.twitter.com/YV4wwZmR2M— The Bee Man (@the_beeguy) July 22, 2023
…of the tibia this is. (Prevent it!). Men with longer fore and hind legs are extra a success at mating.
So the ones torpid #bumblebees that you just in finding early morning on plant life presently of 12 months – particularly #thistles as men have a candy enamel and thistle nectar is…
12/16 percent.twitter.com/PQIH9rN7l1— The Bee Man (@the_beeguy) July 22, 2023
All women broaden a stinger however the an identical a part of the frame in men develops into the genital tablet.
When men carry that center leg to provide you with a warning to back down it’s only a bluff with out a sting to again it up.
So with regards to #bumblebees the men…
14/16 percent.twitter.com/ExR587BW2X— The Bee Man (@the_beeguy) July 22, 2023
Hope this gives just a little little bit of perception and creates just a little extra #empathy against those superb creatures.
Thank you for studying.
Please proportion to unfold additional the information. #retweet
And please do nonetheless dream of drowsing in #plant life.
Have an ideal one!#bees
16/16 percent.twitter.com/ikggmMZ0QQ— The Bee Man (@the_beeguy) July 22, 2023
(photograph from Wikimedia Commons, tweets embedded from @the_beeguy)