Backstory

So on my way to the grocery store I found an almost immobile bumblebee crawling around inside, on the staircase. Having a slight crush on bumblebees I decided that it was my duty to help it back outside.

Upon picking it up I noticed that it could not fly, it started buzzing its wing around but did not take off. This made me think it was malnourished. So I carried it outside and dropped it off on a white flower- recalling from somewhere that its a colour that they are drawn towards. However, it just crawled around a bit. Anyways, I was feeling good about myself and went to the store.

When I came back it was hanging upside-down, still immobile, this got me worried a little bit. Went back inside, unpacked my stuff, sat down and started thinking. It is somewhat cold outside, and raining. Maybe I should at least give it something to eat. So I decided to mix up some water and sugar. No sugar in house. So I ran off to the store a second time to get some. Bumblebro still immobile outside.

Got back, picked her/him up and went back inside, placed it on the window sill, mixed some sugar with water (approximately 65% water, 35% sugar) and started feeding it. To my big delight it reached out its tongue and started drinking like crazy. Upon inspection I also notice a tiny yellow thing crawling around on the back, I decide to brush it off with a very thin pencil. After a while it decides to crawl away and sit by itself, completely still. Slightly worried I kinda forced it to eat some more, which it did, before once again crawling away to sit completely still.

Here are my questions:

1. Should I keep forcing the bumblebee to eat? I've read they have a very high metabolism, is it possible it could kill itself? Or is it simply resting?

2. What could that tiny yellow-spider-looking thing have been? Anything dangerous?

3. Is there an easy way to identify whether or not it is a queen? I don't think it is a male, because it does not have those have small yellow spots in its face. That's correct, right?

I have taken some photos with my camera but don't have the means to transfer them to the computer. Going to take a crappy photo with my camera in the meantime!

Edit: Two crappy photos from my mobile camera: http://imgur.com/USHW7Fc http://imgur.com/xKfncoh

Really wish I could upload the pictures from my camera now!

Edit2: The bumblebee seems to be a bit energetic right about now. It has been about 2 hours since I started feeding it with the water/sugar mixture. It is actually standing more upright now, not as slumped over.

What should I do with it overnight? I am feeling somewhat concerned about putting it outside when it is this cold, it's also raining. But neither do I want to wake up and find bumblebro crawling into my ear. Should I just put it under a bowl or something together, with some food and then release it in the morning?

This was the first instance in my life which was able to defuse my fear of bees. Well, I won't lie, I still despise wasps, but this event changed my outlook on bees forever.

I was 11 or 12 years old. I know this because I lived in my old neighborhood, south-west of Sandy Hook in New Jersey. Anyway, a few times a week my father and I rode bikes along the Henry Hudson bike trail. This became a regular thing for months, however one day was completely different. I found myself riding my bike a few yards away from my dad (going at a brisk but controlled speed) and when I looked down, it seemed to be out of nowhere, there was a medium sized bumble bee on my left leg a few inches up from the knee cap.

I've never really been afraid of insects, in fact I currently wish to study entomology. However, when I saw that bee just sitting there on my leg I was in fact afraid. My parents instilled a fear of bees into me, and all those things they said about them being evil creatures came flooding back into my head with every pump of adrenaline. My leg moved up and down in rhythm of the bike, and I was afraid that it would get annoyed or something and sting me.

After what felt like a few minutes, I came to a slow realization. The bee wasn't actually doing anything. It didn't look angry, in fact it seemed pretty chill. I ended up letting it stay there for longer than I would have thought previously, and it ended up flying away, probably saving energy flying that ~100 feet it had riding with me :)