Dead Bumblebees.

killwilly

killwilly

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Alan
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I found 5 dead Bumblebees in my garden this morning and was wondering what is happening to them. My property is surrounded by fields of cereal crops, which I know have been sprayed during the past couple of weeks. I thought that any spray that is used today is selective, so does anyone have any idea what could be killing them.
 
Exhaustion, heat, little water and the fact that people don't plant enough flowers so the bees unfortunately have to travel further to collect the nectar :(
 
...or there is a serial bee killer on the loose!

Seriously though, ive noticed this also. Found a few in my garden, and have seen quite a few whilst out walking he dog.
 
Police helicopters all over the place wasting money on fuel cant help the poor buggers either:)
 
There was one in my conservatory the other day....size of a Boston terrier it was. :eek:
Maybe it's got a rolled up newspaper and is whacking all the smaller bees :bat:
 
killwilly said:
I found 5 dead Bumblebees in my garden this morning
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Did you get the early morning downpours that seemed to hit a lot of the country today?

If they get wet / soaked on their early morning forage,
they sometimes don't have the energy to get to a dry place, / have the chance to dry out.
And so either literally drown, of die of cold.
 
Our garden usually has loads of bumble bees at this time of the year. Probably seen a total of two this year!
 
Al1944 said:
Our garden usually has loads of bumble bees at this time of the year. Probably seen a total of two this year!
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I've got the usual nest under the Mews as I do every year.
But I haven't seen any interlopers this year, just Mum and about half a dozen off spring.
 
my garden is full of them... any one want em lol. my daughter doesn't like them.
 
Might be they all went to the same set of flowers which had been sprayed with insecticide. There was a segment on the radio about them today and apparently that happens but the cold/exhaustion thing too.

Here's a fact... If a human male ate a marathon bar it would take an hour of running to burn off the calories, it would take a human sized bumble bee 30 seconds! that's how much energy they use up and why it's easy for them to die of exhaustion.
 
Steep said:
exhaustion
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That's the word I was looking for :thumbs:
As it now appears that sugar is bad for you and the scientists want the government to recommend half the daily dose
(14 tea spoons to 7 tea spoons per day max)

And 100g of honey contains 82g of sugar, the bee's could soon be out of a job, if the nanny state has its way :(
 
I've seen quite a few 'bumbling' about, and several dead ones too. The cold/wet weather seems to be the most likely explanation for the deaths, but the worker bees only live for a few weeks in any case, and are constantly replaced during the colony's life. We're surrounded by farmland but it's used for silage and grazing, and I doubt if the farmers are spraying anything on their fields that would kill them.
 
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Putting sugar water out helps, it's exhaustion usually, think it's something like 2tbs sugar to one tbs water in a very small container, placed near flower bush or something
 
Guy on the radio says to soak some cotton wool or the like so the bees can land on it and feed without drowning.
 
We have had lots of bees throughout the summer on various flowering bushes we have planted in the front and rear gardens, but like most other areas of the UK, we have had sudden changes in the weather, from very warm, to cool and wet, so this could be the cause of their demise.
 
Couple of Buddleja in every garden would see the little blighters right :-)
 
viv1969 said:
Couple of Buddleja in every garden would see the little blighters right :)
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Aren't they known as "Butterfly bush"?
"My" bees prefer the Fuchsia's & Lavender to the Buddleia
 
Lavender is popular here too :-)
 
viv1969 said:
Couple of Buddleja in every garden would see the little blighters right :)
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Agreed, I have a couple.
Also, I bought a kilo of clover seeds a couple of years ago & scattered it over the lawn/grassy areas. The bees love it! It also cuts down on the need for as much lawn mowing + the lawn looks greener in the Winter. Win win. :cool:
 
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