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Bees

WHat is your favorite type of bee?


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Level 4
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Which type of bee is the most interesting to you?

Personally, Bumble Bees are my favorite. I love Honey Bees for the fact that they make honey, but I think if I had to choose between these species, I'd be a Bumblebee. Bumblebees have barbless stingers like wasps do, so they can sting repeatedly. As far as I'm aware of, it is the only type of bee on my list that can do that. Unlike wasps however, Bumblebees are very passive, and don't sting unless provoked.

They often can be confused with carpenter bees, due to their shape and similar colorations. But keep in mind that Bumblebees are entirely covered in fur, whereas carpenter bees do not have fur on the top side of their abdomens. I captured two photos of bumblebees on flowers on the side of my house. I was fascinated because when I go outside to my little garden, I usually only see honey bees, carpenter bees, moths, wasps, Japanese beetles (ugh), etc.

Backstory

I took interest in this sort of topic one night where I had insomnia and couldn't sleep, so I looked something to read to pass the time in hopes that I'd eventually nod off. I went into my desk's cabinet where I keep a small cache of books, and got out a pamphlet called Dangerous Animals & Plants. The pamphlet isn't necessarily about lethal bugs/plants/animals, but ones that you shouldn't take lightly.

My question to you:

What is your favorite type of bee?
 

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Level 22
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The only bees I have in my backyard are carpenter bees. After all the time I've been living with them, I still can't figure out what ticks them off... (Maybe they hate guys like me who love lolis?) Sometimes they would chase me and sometimes they won't.

Bee lovers need not worry as I don't kill them in retaliation, I just run away since they stop pursuing me after 5 paces lol. I've encountered snakes hanging around my monitor and I didn't kill him/her either, so there is no need to worry guys & gals, everything is fine with uncle chobibo :D

よろしく(^ー゚)ノ
 

Zwiebelchen

Hosted Project GR
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I like bumble bees. They are the fat furry nerd girls of insects.
Also, whenever I encounter a bumble bee, they just peacefully fly from flower to flower without bothering me. I like watching them...

Wasps on the other hand are annoying as fuck. They just keep coming again and again even if they already know that whatever you have in your hand is not edible for them. Also, they are one of those "keep bumping into window glass" type of insects...

You rarely see honey bees if you're not within close neighbourhood to an apiarist.
 
Level 4
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Response to #1 & #2

The only bees I have in my backyard are carpenter bees. After all the time I've been living with them, I still can't figure out what ticks them off... (Maybe they hate guys like me who love lolis?) Sometimes they would chase me and sometimes they won't.

Male carpenter bees aren't aggressive, they're just curious as to what you are. They may fly in your face to examine you more closely, but they don't have stingers so you don't need to be concerned. Female carpenter bees on the other hand, can sting. Luckily, the female carpenter bees usually just mind their own business and don't sting unless handled or if their nest is disturbed.

I like bumble bees. They are the fat furry nerd girls of insects.
Also, whenever I encounter a bumble bee, they just peacefully fly from flower to flower without bothering me. I like watching them...

Wasps on the other hand are annoying as fuck. They just keep coming again and again even if they already know that whatever you have in your hand is not edible for them. Also, they are one of those "keep bumping into window glass" type of insects...

You rarely see honey bees if you're not within close neighbourhood to an apiarist.

I like Bumblebees for that reason also! Besides, their numbers are dwindling and we need to protect them from the evil hybrid Killer Bees.

Wasps (paper wasps more specifically) are constantly giving me trouble. They build nests in places in inconvenient spots, and sting the hell outta you if you stumble upon them. I was going to run my old car one day, when I open the passenger door to let some air out and next thing I know, the side of my left hand gets stung (they were in the door jam) Man I forgot how painful that is! :ogre_rage: After that they tried to swarm me but I ran like hell for the door so they didn't get me.

I used to see honey bees quite often. Now I do see them on occasion, but not as often as in the past.
 
Level 22
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Ooh! Thanks for that info, now I don't need to run away from them :D That explains why they fly really close to me when I pass them by...
 
Level 19
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Africanized honey bees yeah. The result of something unintentional by geneticists in Brazil.

Honebeehive.jpg



"European honey bees mostly will sting you 10 - 12 times or over 200 is the whole nest is disturbed. If a killer bee colony senses a threat, on the other hand, the victim could be stung around 2,000 times."
-Discovery News

They become very aggressive when defending their hive, and minor disturbances like a lawn mower or a moving car — even as far away as 100 feet (30 meters) — can trigger an attack.

They could hold the key to solving the problem of bee colony collapse disorder, a deadly syndrome that's wiping out native bee populations throughout North America and Europe which is not bad after all, if biologists can isolate the trait of this bees.

Some cases of africanized bee attacks.
 
Level 4
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Africanized honey bees yeah. The result of something unintentional by geneticists in Brazil.

If you have a favorite out of the four bee types listed, then feel free to vote in the poll at the top.

Honebeehive.jpg



"European honey bees mostly will sting you 10 - 12 times or over 200 is the whole nest is disturbed. If a killer bee colony senses a threat, on the other hand, the victim could be stung around 2,000 times."
-Discovery News

They become very aggressive when defending their hive, and minor disturbances like a lawn mower or a moving car — even as far away as 100 feet (30 meters) — can trigger an attack.

I find it ridiculous that they are allowed in the United States at all with the huge threat they impose. I mean, you could be minding your own business walking down a road, then suddenly you get swarmed and killed by an angry swarm of Africanized or "Killer" Bees as a preemptive strike to protect a nest that you probably didn't know existed.

They could hold the key to solving the problem of bee colony collapse disorder, a deadly syndrome that's wiping out native bee populations throughout North America and Europe which is not bad after all, if biologists can isolate the trait of this bees.

Some cases of africanized bee attacks.

I hate to burst your bubble, but they aren't the key to solving the problem of bee colony disorder. They actually propagate the problem further by invading colonies of other types of bees, killing anything in their way (including other species of honey bees) while exterminating all other forms of life nearby, then moving on to the next place to invade. Then the next, then the next, etc. To top it off, Killer Bees produce less honey than normal honey bees because they have a trait from African Honey Bees where they don't need to produce as much honey to store for the winter.

Physically, they are no different than ordinary Honey Bees (resilience to diseases and parasites excepted, and they are smaller with darker colored fur). Their behavior patterns are the sole reason for their malevolence. Below is an picture I took a few days ago of an ordinary Honey bee for comparison.
 

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Level 19
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I hate to burst your bubble, but they aren't the key to solving the problem of bee colony disorder.

What I was trying to say is the trait of Africanized Honey bee which makes their colony healthy is its resilience to parasites and pathogens which devastates other species of bees. I know that Africanized Honey Bees are invasive species and probably one of the most successful one.
 
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