We have a bee hotel and it's so damn cute seeing these little solitary bees filling up the holes.
We probably have 20-30 nests.
Ooh I've been debating getting one!
What species are they?
If you have a drill, they're stupid easy to make. Read about what size holes the bees in your area like. And leave a smooth edge on the entry! They won't use it if they sense a risk to their wings.
Might as well roll your own, not like you can reuse them after they nest. Mites and such are an issue.
Yay! Me too! I had so many different species visit my yard this year. Like 3 different species of big 'bumble bees'. And so many of the other kind. I like the iridescent green one!! :-D
OPs post reminded me to get a new one built!
Whereabouts do you live and what sizes of holes are you drilling?
I have a little butterfly home, but it got populated by yellow jackets and now I don’t know what to do.
Huh. I thought yellow jackets nest underground.
Moreso. Everyone started getting honey bees that it’s now having an impact on native bees.
Honey bees got hyped up as a problem because the large agricultural industries that relied on them was having a problem. It is an actual problem but not just honey bees. Everyone got so hyped that we’ve note got the old problem and a new problem too.
Bumblebees are so fuzzy! They're adorable.
Love me some fat bees
I rescued one recently by picking it up
They're so docile it's awesome
And my god did it ever perk up when I plonked it on a flower. It was so ridic cute
Apparently there are some wasps that are pollinators and also not assholes, but I don't bother to Google which is which before murdering them. If they want to live they shouldn't be asshole shaped.
Wasps are all pollinators, they just don't make honey si people hate them.
Paper wasps are generally good pollinators and not assholes, but they have yellow striping to make them look scary.
Yellow jackets are assholes, unusually aggressive and territorial and this becomes a problem because they also tend to love human food and beverage. In my region, I would also say fuck the bald-faced hornet, which is naturally related to the yellow jacket and is similarly aggressive. Fortunately less common (I haven't been stung by one, but apparently it's worse than it is with a yellow jacket).
Boll's Potter wasps (if I'm remembering their name correctly) are also common where I am and they are pretty chill and just go about pollinating. I'm sure there are a bunch of others that I haven't yet learned to identify.
tl;dr: Yellow jackets and their relatives are assholes. The rest are mostly okay.
We got a small hornet nest somewhat nearby. They tend to come over and murder all the asshole wasps which is nice. The hornets are reddish orange, no idea what kind they are but I like them. Otherwise they are super chill and avoid humans.
The wasps you see are usually the ones only out for your food.
It's a bummer that the territorial demons are important to the environment.
Honey Bees and Bumble Bees are great. They're fun to watch, and are very docile/relaxed. I will always stop to watch one, or avoid while mowing.
If you're asking me about carpenter bees or any wasp, hornet, or yellow jacket, they can all die in a fire. Those call for scorched earth.
Edit: my most recent acquaintance :)
I recently watched a video of a bee keeper showing how his bees were kept save because he fed the wasps fermented pare. So it kept them happy and docile and really showed how some wasps species can co exist and play a part in Mother Nature which we often forget.
But mosquitoes… fuck them, they can all die.
Also, cute ass little bee photo. 🐝
Some wasps look scary but all they want to do is hang around the flowers.
Hornets are my bros, they're super chill here. Swoop in, hunt something down, eat it sitting on a random branch, and then they're gone again.
Honey Bee is not even in danger at the places where it comes from. People brought it to America and now it competes with local pollinators.
Yep yep! The main bees in trouble are cute little bumble bees. Since some native plants work best with their native bees, it's problematic that the sweet little dummies are struggling.
But we just really love their cousins that produce candy in exchange for houses.
In this thread: Animals only deserve to live if they have a direct use case to us humans. People here are not sure whats alle the fuss about mass extinction. Carry on beloved free market capitalism.
What commercial purpose do non-honey bees serve??? Why should we save them???
Edit: yeesh, didn't think that needed an /s
Viewing things from a solely commercial perspective is myopic and like most capitalistic business practitioners, promotes a mindset that thinks waaay too short term. You can't make your money off your crops decades from when you're only thinking about this quarters profits. Put simply, the selfish you today fucks yourself over tomorrow.
But even if you were to take this myopic and short sighted approach, Honey Bees are just average pollinators amongst a diverse range of insects and some small birds.
Additionally planting a wide variety of drought resistant flora is better for both wild as well as domesticated pollinators and is a more environmentally friendly practice than just keeping honey bees.
I offer two points for consideration:
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Bees help plants maintain genetic diversity among certain plants that other pollinators may not target. Genetic diversity helps maintain a thriving variety of plant, tolerant to different environments. Especially important is our environments are changing.
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Animals that are bred until they cannot survive outside of certain environments, (co-dependence) are destined to become extinct in the absence of said environment. (In case there's any confusion, insects fall under the umbrella of "animals" taxonomically. Also, in this sentence, the codependent animals may be humans.)
Diverse populations of bees provide benefits and necessities outside of commercial purposes, and are going the way of the American Bison. (Please note the differences from the way of the dinosaur.)
-
Panel 1: 😏 Panel 2: /s right?
Panel 3: 😏 Panel 4: …right?
Obviously, didn't think I'd need the /s here of all places. 😓
Edit: yeesh, didn’t think that needed an /s
The best piece of advice someone gave me about social media is "always assume you're talking to a 12 year old kid with autism"
Bumble bees run a popular online dating platform
Fuck wasps tho
But hornets are cute. And they eat wasps
Wasps are just as important in most ecosystems. They prey on pests, are pollinators, and act as decomposers. The only species of wasp you should hate in the US is the only one that is invasive: the Asian 'murder' hornet.
Some species of wasps pollinate and eat smaller pests.
So don't hate on the territorial demons too much!
You shouldn’t fuck wasps, they sting your dick.
Maybe some people are in to that
If you hate wasps its because you're a coward and deserve to be stung anyway
I don't hate wasps, but I wish they'd realize the apple I'm eating comes from the tree right behind me, that has a thousand more for them to munch on
Save all bees. Except carpenter bees, which are to be terminated with extreme prejudice.
(/s obviously, I'm sure they are important to the larger ecosystem somehow)
Fucking carpenter bees (aka winged termites). Ironically, the males have no stingers but they are extremely aggressive and will kamakazi dive bomb you in the face repeatedly if you get near the entrance to the nest.
Yeah fuck those guys. Had an awning built over our patio and didn't even get through the whole summer before one started digging a hole into one of the rafters. Our backyard is now a no-fly zone for those bastards.
I keep (as much as solitary bees can be "kept") native mason and leafcutter bees every year. I love when they first emerge from their cocoons. They're so tiny and adorable. They're also completely non-aggressive and never mind when I mess with their bee houses (mostly to remove spider webs). My plants love the bees as well.
Last panel should say "spray for mosquitoes again"
#allbeesmatter
yeah... and arent the threatened bess only the ones that live alone and arent used by humans to make honey anyway?
The ones I know of are exclusively bumble bees. Which yeah, don't make honey we can eat. They actually hibernate during the winter, so they don't need to make a ton of honey. Just enough to snack on if it's too stormy to go looking for food.
And FYI to anybody reading, the best thing you can do for bumblebee populations is to grow wildflowers native to your region and don't cut them down before they flower so the bees have a chance to get to them.
Bumblebees are these fuzzy, gentle, fat little guys. They're fun to watch and harmless, as long as you don't try to go catching them with your bare hands or something like that.
I'm all for Hymenoptera, but no love for sawflies?
What about the non bee insects?
Not many realize this, but sticking with the non-bee pollination theme you have things like beetles, butterflies, moths, some species of flies, ants, wasps... the list goes on.
Non-inscect options include some speciea of bats and birds.
That's not even getting into the tons of other useful things insects do.
Can't get on board with this. fuck non honey bees.
Wasp and hornet populations are bigger than ever. They are pests that don't need our support. We are doing them a huge favor by raising the earth's temperature. They love this. In my area wasps are easily more noticeable over the past few years as summers have gotten hotter and hotter. I've never had so many issues with carpenter bees either.
Actually they really don't love the rising temperature at all, because that combined with human activity directly is killing a lot of their food sources, which is why many are endangered. Wasps are important pollinators as well as bees, so if they go it will make life even more difficult for a lot of different flowers. Also, how often are you actually stung by wasps or hornets? Do they actively hunt you down and attack you? I've spent many calm evenings sitting and watching wasps fly around various flowers and bushes right next to me and never been bothered by them.
Thinking we just need to save honey bees is kind of like thinking we need to save cows from extinction, they're domesticated.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/06/climate-change-good-news-wasps-weatherwatch
Wasps are known to be aggressive. There are subtypes that are less or more, but I get stung about once every three or four years and yeah, it seems like they hunt. Perhaps it's some accidental perceived threat that I cause, but I'm not exactly "asking for it". They are notably more prevelant recently.
Carpenter bees are easy. If they're eating your house, just get a trap. Aside from a rare wasp, they're the only things that get in those.
Looks like this:
Also, sure the carpenter bees aren't actually bumblebees? I can't tell 'em apart in flight.
Wasps and hornets aren't bees.
Bees in danger of extinction are mostly certain bumble bees.
Fair enough. A lot of people still refer to wasps / hornets as "bees" but this is not scientifically correct. Carpenter bees can go to hell. Nothing against the bumble, but if I'm going to get behind saving something that can sting me or kids and potentially induce lethal allergic reactions, it's going to be the one that at least makes a decent cereal topping.
Wasp and hornet populations are bigger than ever
They're not non honey bees!
Non honey bees are things like the blue banded bee, or the burrowing bee!
My parents have a hive of wood bees in the pergola my dad made. They pollinate our lime tree and I love them
She did say bees not wasps
I mean they pollinate too and are important to keep some pests in check. So they are important to the ecosystem.
They are also tiny demons and give me a sense of panic no other creature can because there is just so many of them and they are so small and full of hate.
It is a bummer that these are not mutually exclusive.
