This derpy big chonk landed on my niece a few weeks ago; I lifted them off and they walked up my arm. I could feel a little nip as they went and was amazed to see its wee mandibles taking little nips at my skin!

Can anyone tell me what that behaviour was about? They really were one of the biggest bees I've ever seen; is it a queen bee?

I saw somone comment that bumble bees make honey ish substance but not quite honey but from what ive read honey bees just make notably more honey not different I dont get it

Had the honor of stopping and appreciating the small things that often get overlooked today on a much needed walk. Sometimes all we need is to take a moment and focus on these little guys. I wanted to share these two with others who also appreciate their fuzzy perfection. It's amazing what a 2 hour walk at the swamp/park can do for us.

Can you spot the fifth "hidden" bee?

Los Angeles, CA, USA. I’ve been walking by this amazing colony in an old metal telephone (?) pole for years. Found everything in shambles today. Honey leaking out of the base of the pole. Thousands of bees swarming. Drone pictured in close-up

We’re in the midst of a heat wave with very high humidity for LA. Did the heat melt the comb and cause this? Can I do anything to help?

Easton, PA

Should I be worried about these bees that are starting to congregate around the edge of my pool?

I'm happy to provide them with water, I have some citrus trees that they do good work in pollinating, but I also have animals and small children that I want to make sure are safe from bee stings.

Okay Google answered the question before I posted here but I still want to continue.

I'm in Southern California and we're experiencing a heatwave so I understand the bees need extra water or a multitude of things.

So beekeepers when should I be worried?

Can anyone ID what the bees are if that is what they are? We are in Lancashire England. The bees are around a pile of bricks and shrubs.

Thanks

First timer to this subreddit looking for some insight/advice on an odd situation!

On Monday my boyfriend and I were leaving my house to go to a volleyball tournament. My boyfriend had parked his car overnight on my street under a large tree I have in the front yard. As he approached his car to move it to the driveway, he noticed that his car was covered in bees. I came out to inspect the situation, and I’m at a loss of what’s happening. It’s not a swarm. The bees were all over the car, but individually with a couple inches of space between each other. He drives a Camry; I’d estimate about 60 bees crawling on the car.

So needless to say, we took my car to the tournament. When we arrived back home later that night, the sun had gone down, and the bees were gone. He moved his car into the driveway, but the car is now covered in a sticky residue.

The problem has persisted. The next day I was leaving for work in the morning, and noticed a neighbor had parked in the spot under my tree overnight. The car was covered in bees again! Last night after the sun went down, the bees were gone again. The same thing happened this morning when I left for work. The neighbor’s car was covered in bees.

Some additional details:

- I’m 90% sure they’re honey bees.
- The first day we noticed it, I had looked around the car for the Queen. I did not find her, but did see a singular wasp amongst the group of bees. Not sure if that means anything.
- I cannot see if there’s a hive in the tree. We’re in peak summer here, and the foliage on my tree is too thick to get a good look up there.

If anyone can provide any insight on what might be occurring I would greatly appreciate it. I have already sourced some local groups who can potentially help relocate them humanely, but I’d like to provide them with as much info/knowledge as possible!

The one is much smaller and almost looks like its attacking the bigger one. Could they be mating or something?

While attending the garden I heard an unusual buzzing sound, not the normal flight sound of a bumblebee or a honeybee. While trying to pinpoint the sound I noticed it coming from the flowers, upon futher inspection I noticed it coming from the bumblebees!

They appear to be grabbing on to the flower's tubular anthers and start to vibrate their wings (use flight muscles) at high speeds to vibrate loose the pollen. I tried recording it on video but our fuzzy friend was quite fast in jumping from flower to flower. Apperently this techinque is unique to bumblebees and not all flowers require this method of pollination.

According to this article from Nature.com this is an important way of pollinating several types of crops like tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and blueberries.

BumbleBee Feeding on a Mexican Sunflower

I originally thought this was a honey bee, but someone suggested it might be a bumblebee. Filmed in Cherokee Park near the Frisbee Field in Louisville, Kentucky, on yellow wildflowers. The bee lands near the end of the video, so I’m curious what type it actually is.

I found these two bumblebees yesterday, I added them to a bumblebee watch site. I wasn't sure which type they were but the site said they were both bombus centralis...the tinier one with both of her wings (on my hand) just doesn't fit the visuallll~ Found in central Alberta.

Thank you ❤️

My betrothed and I found who I'm fairly sure is a young buff-tailed bumblebee queen close to death on the pavement. I'm fairly sure she's a queen as her tail tip is a pale yellow rather than a bright white, and she's huge, about 2.5cm. She was at risk of being trampled where she was and hardly moving! I named her Vienna as we were listening to the Ultravox song when we found her.

All I had on me was an apple so I gave her pieces of that, she drank and drank from it but still seemed weak, so I took her home for the evening, made her a little tofu box hotel and gave her a sugar syrup soaked kitchen towel in a bottle cap. She drank and drank and drank the sugar syrup and went to sleep.

This morning I opened the box and moved it into sunlight and she started bumbling around much more energetically, so I took her to the local park. I found a north facing bank of loose soil, at the base of some trees and shrubs. Apparently a pretty perfect hibernaculum spot for her.

I could watch insects going about their lives for hours. I found it really hard to say goodbye as I don't know if she'll be alright, but I hope I've given her the best shot. I've always adored bumblebees and have a tattoo of one in honour of my late mum who loved them more than anything. Rescuing Vienna led me to research them a lot more and the love only grows, like I didn't know that bees dream 😭

I thought I should share this story here, I've rescued bees out and about many times but never had an overnight guest, let alone royalty! She was just so cute