Hello /an/,You are now reminded that Bumblebee season has officially begun in the northern hemisphere. Bumblebees and Solitary Bees are in massive crisis so this thread will be to discuss ways to help them, ask questions about how to plant for them, and general bombus chat. Note that Mellifera (‘honey bees’) are NOT in crisis, are actually a major culprit in the decline of Bumblebees and Solitary Bees, and aren’t even native to most of the northern hemisphere anyway - so they are banned from this thread. So are wasps which are just shit generally.Related, my borage in pots just starting to come into flower.
Night shot of my Pulmonaria. These are for the Hairy Footed Flower Bee (anthophora plumipes) which are one of the earliest solitary bees in the UK. I just keep them in pots so I can easily move them around the space I have. This is not gardening - it is shepherding.
A. Plumipes female. This is one of the fastest bees on Earth, reaching a relative speed of Mach 1.5 and an average of +40G when turning and accelerating which is why their organs are encased in a type of jelly as a shock absorber.
Save the Bumblebees
Is it worth trying to save the bumblebees from my apartment balcony? I face a minor highway but with lawn and parking lot in between. What should I plant for them in eastern North America?
>>5117815Absolutely. If you have even a single window ledge facing the sun, you can plant it up and it will massively help them. In fact, Bumblebees and Solitary Bees need more help in urban environments than anywhere else. Lavender is probably the easiest to grow in a window box. You can also stagger plant them so you get year-round interest (daffodils in spring, lavenders and salvias through summer, then ivy and sedums for autumn). All very easy to plant up. Lemme know if that helps or you’d like more tips.
While I wait for other bombus bros, imma just use this thread to post fascinating bumblebee facts. Related is a Lucorum in a foxglove. The ‘spots’ on foxgloves are a specific evolutionary adaption solely for bumblebees. All bees see in ultraviolet so any northern hemisphere plant that is pink, lavender, blue, purplish, anything on the blue spectrum is evolved to attract both bumblebees and solitaries (not ‘honey bees’ which are niche and native to the Middle East only). So these ‘spots’ on a foxglove light up like runway lights in bumblebee vision to guide her to the nectar pockets at the base of the flower so that the pollen brackets at the inside top brush against her back.
My seed haul for this year. 1kg phacelia, and multiple packs of borage and Echium blue bedder. The phacelia I’m seeding to distract vermin ‘honey bees’ but the borage and Echium are both bumblebee nectar power houses and grow fast so with my limited space I’m hoping to feed an average of 50 to a 100 bumblebees a day through summer and well into autumn.
>>5117649No wasps = lots of caterpillars = no plants for bees. It’s all rock paper scissors.
>>5117833cool bug fact's
>>5118214I have loads more. For instance, this is the oldest found bee on earth. Melittosphex Burmensis. It’s actually not strictly a bee but likely a bridging species between bees and wasps (bees diverged from wasps when a wasp began to gather pollen rather than insect flesh). Found in a cave in what is now Myanmar. Both bees and wasps originated from an ancient proto-wasp dating back a few hundred million years. This particular bee is 200 million years old. Every Bumblebee and Solitary Bee you see has looked exactly like you see it now for 60+ million years. Solitary Bees (like A. Plumipes shown further up thread) has the exact same nesting behaviour as the original proto-wasp. So a single female forages for pollen and nectar, makes a ball of food from it, leaves it in a hole (in a wall, mud bank, cave, whatever), lays an egg on it, and then seals up the hole. Rinse and repeat. Eusocial bees (so colony bees like Bumblebees, and hive bees aka ‘honey bees’) evolved to take this one step further when a Solitary Bee female realised she could raise a first generation of daughters to help her, leaving her time to then lay the rest of her eggs.
A. Plumipes female having a little bit of a sugar coma.
>>5117830Nice. I like lavender. I'll look for it at the plant sale in a couple weeks.
>>5118384Excellent. I’ll be running these generals throughout the summer so pop in if you get it and let me know. Also, lavender likes poor-ish soil so if you want to pot it into a larger container, mix a little basic garden soil with some grit in to whatever compost you use. Once a year in spring, sprinkle a tiny bit of slow-release, low-nitrogen fertilizer like seaweed meal or a bit of potash on the top. Be careful not to overwater and that it has good drainage. Lavender comes from poor soil, dry and dusty Mediterranean regions so just mimic that more or less. Other than that, cut its flowers back regularly so it reflowers often and you’re good to go. Thank you for helping the Bumblebees.
Potting up my second wave of Borage in interim pots for a couple of days then they’re moved to 30cm deep 7L rose pots next week. Should come in to flower about mid June. I seed new every couple of weeks starting end March so I get a full supply of high octane Bumblebee and Solitary feeding through until September. After Vipers Bugloss (the absolute GOAT of all bee plants), borage is the second most prolific nectar supplier and will totally refill its nectaries in as little as two minutes. I also don’t let Borage go to seed and as soon as I see it start to fade on its flower, it’ll get pulled and mulched and its pot soil repurposed for the next wave.
Based.My garden is full of ground ivy and purple nettles and they really like it. A few years ago carpenter bees returned to our country after like hundred years so I am always glad to see them. Last year in july I saw a bee that I have never seen in my life so Im assuming its pretty rare here. But I cant find out the name right now
>>5118657how can it fly with that small wings
>>5118657Bombus Lucorum (the White-Tailed Bumblebee) Queen. These are the great retards of the bombus world that will inexplicably nest in the dumbest, most high risk places like in a lawnmower, or under an old mattress. How they manage to survive is legit beyond me. Anyway, she’s looking for a nesting site which is why she’s hovering so close to the ground. This is very common Bumblebee behaviour in early spring when they first come out of hibernation and need to find somewhere to lay their first eggs and raise that vital first generation of daughter workers. Beautiful clip; thanks for posting it. >>5118661Bumblebees have a very powerful set of muscles across their thorax (that the wings attach to). It’s actually this that allows them to create the propulsion necessary to lift their weight and fly. The old adage that their “wings defy the laws of physics” is nonsense. Related is an xray of a Bumblebee that shows these muscles and you can see how large they are (kind of crisscrossing lighter colour in upper back). Bumblebee wings beat an average of 200 times per second, and they are ALSO able to (unlike ‘honey bees’) uncouple their wings while shaking their bodies to create clouds of pollen from the flower they’re targeting which results in so-called ‘buzz pollination’. Every tomato you eat, for instance, was pollinated by a Bumblebee using this staggering feat of biological engineering. In fact, over 90% of all flowering plants on Earth, including all the food you eat, are pollinated by Bumblebees and Solitary Bees.
>>5118656Both are superb plants. Ivy is often overlooked as a Bumblebee and Solitary Bee feeder but because it’s winter/early spring flowering it’s exceptionally important for new Queens especially. Nettles too are a great favourite of my favourite bee, the Hairy Footed Flower Bee (Anthophora Plumipes) posted earlier in this thread. That’s also great news about Carpenter Bees being back where you are. I always love seeing images of especially the American ones - great big tanks of awesomeness. Also very misunderstood as ‘destroying woodwork’ when in actual fact they only use holes that are already there and some studies suggest these are actually strengthened by the nesting mucus they produce leading the structure to be more secure, not less. If you want to let me know where you are (no worries if not), I can help you identify that bee if you like. I’m always interested in new Bombus and Solitaries. Related: Bombus on an Ivy flower.
>>5117649PROVEN: Bees can do maths:https://phys.org/news/2026-04-honeybees-math-upending-animal-intelligence.htmlThe study, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, re-examined previous critiques of bee intelligence by accounting for the honeybee's unique sensory and perceptual constraints. By evaluating experimental stimuli from a biologically relevant perspective, researchers demonstrated that previous criticisms, which suggested bees were merely sensitive to visual cues like spatial frequency, do not hold up.
>>5118735Whatever, mellifera fanboy. Bumblebees literally play with balls for fun. https://youtu.be/v-uKp1KlOas?si=twXcS7eD7UHlUzxA(No, but in all seriousness, cool study. I agree with that woman on human bias when assessing animal cognition).
>>5118731I meant ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) but good to know that they like ivy too. Some ivy plants appeared out of nowhere in my garden so at least I know I should let them there. As for the bee, I actually have a photo, once I have it on my pc I think I can identify it with google. I will post it here too
>>5118731.......so I identified it and it was actually a flower fly. Nevermind my retardation. Its just that it was so pretty and striped like a bumblebee...
>>5118794>>5118804Yup, ground ivy flowers too so yes, definitely leave it. And no worries on the flower fly. I actually photographed this this morning - a Drone Fly - so not uncommon as there are a few fly species that mimic bumblebees (why I don’t know) but yeah, they’re very deceptive. You can tell by the eyes though. Bees have more almond shaped eyes with a more subtle curvature while these have those typical buggy fly eyes.
>>5118806The huge eyes should have tipped me off...Btw I have one lavender plant and I didnt know I should prune it every year and now its quite woody. Do you think its salvageable if I prune it this year after bloom?
>>5118818Oh, sure. I took a photo of one I have that I largely ignore. I circled the part that you should cut. So like the green part of the branch; don’t cut into the wood itself lower down. You can actually cut them twice a year. A light cut after the first flowering to encourage a second flowering into late summer, and then a hard cut in like early autumn. So cut right back so it’s a few inches above the woody part. This lets it recover over winter and you’ll get a really good flush of growth out of it next year.
>>5118824Wow thanks for the detailed advice.I actually really liked bumblebees some years ago and wanted to plant flowers specifically for them. But then I fell into depression and forgot about it. Your thread reminded me of how I used to care about them so now I feel enthusiastic again. Sorry for dumping that on you I just wanted to let you know that what you are doing helps bees and people too. Thank you.
a bumblebee for 3 years has pollinated my whole blueberry bush (not the same one obviously they dont live that long) they always ignore everything until after they went past the blueberriesI grew a second one from seed from the first, started growing last year and is flowering now so they will have even more sweet blueberry pollen>also have rosemary, strawberry, raspberry and mint flowering atm>herbs will be replanted with new seed
Got a ton of french lavender. If I want to help solitary bees do I just put up an "insect hotel" and call it a day?
>>5118829Not at all, my man. I’m really sorry to hear that; the way depression wipes out any motivation is the fucking worst, I know. Anyway, I’m really glad you’re interested in them again. I used to run these generals a while back so I’ll hang around all summer with updates and general nerd posting so you can ask me anything and I’ll be really happy to hear from you. Also you’d be amazed at how much you have around you that they like. People overlook plants like ground ivy or nettles without remembering Bumblebees are native to the countries they’re in so anything native is what they’re specialists in. Like a lot of what people call ‘weeds’ are actually ideal in a load of ways. For instance, dandelions are a really important food source for queens first thing in the morning as they’re packed with very dense nectar that helps warm them up. So yeah, you’d be very surprised at what you have around you that they’re using already. But lemme know if you want any more tips or just pop in anyway and hang out.
>>5118830> blueberry> rosemary> strawberry> raspberry> mintThese are all fantastic Bumblebee feeders, Anonymous. You should try tomatoes and garlic and onions, too. They’re big fans of both as well and will get you beautiful tomatoes especially. Watermelon as well.
>>5118857Yeah, but don’t buy one of those gay reed things (that shit just brings in spiders). Just drill holes in a bit of old wood. Make sure it’s north facing or sheltered in some way like on a back wall somewhere under some overhanging tree branches. They need their brooding cells to be sheltered but not overheated. Often if you have a bit of old log or something lying around, just shove it somewhere at the back of your garden and they’ll find it. Anything sheltered, cool, quiet. Bumblebees are similar. Forgotten leaf piles, bits of old garden junk nobody remembers. Also French lavender means you have sun so if you really want to bring them in, you should try some Vipers Bugloss or Comfrey. Anything in the borage family. Similar soil needs to lavender as well. And cheers for caring about Solitaries; they’re the vast majority of bees that do most of the pollinating on Earth yet very few people even know they exist.
Spiders are cool, too.
>>5118909Thanks, I will definitely be following the thread. I have still a lot of unused seeds so Im trying to find out what would be the best for them. Apparently they like fennel and anise so I will try to sow them
>>5118913Its unreal how cute they are. They deserve everything good and more.
>>5118956What’s your sun, soil, and space situation? If you have any sunny spot that’s dry and poor soil, then I highly recommend considering Vipers Bugloss (related). This is the number one bee feeding plant on the planet. Part of the Borage family (any borage is a top Bumblebee plant), it produces a very high concentration nectar almost continuously with a full refill rate of two to five minutes (to put that into context, most flowers will deplete after a few visits and take about 24 hours to regenerate its nectaries). It also likes especially poor, dry, rocky soil so it can be pretty much seeded and forgotten about. But like I say, this is just one idea and really anything native to where you are is going to attract them because they’re evolved for them. Anise, fennel, thyme, anything in the allium family (garlic, onions) are all very good options, too. Any herbs, really.
>>5119017I have a lot of space, the problem is that most of it is in shade. The sunny spots I reserve mostly for growing vegetables. So flowers who produce a lot of nectar but dont take much space would be best I guess. The Vipers Bugloss sounds ideal.
>>5119021Well, no, that’s not an issue at all. A lot of shade means foxgloves which is one of the Bumblebees’ favourite nectar and pollen plants. So much so in fact (as posted here >>5117833) foxgloves have specifically evolved adaptations for them. Also, foxgloves are native to most northern hemisphere countries and are exceptionally hardy. Another one you just seed and leave. They flower in the second year so you’ll have one year of waiting and then they pretty much go from there without any help and will seed freely and widely. Also Monkshood is another one (supposedly highly toxic so just wear gloves if you cut them or anything). But again, native is best. What’s your soil like? I’m guessing pretty rich and loamy. This is exciting. I’m such a fucking nerd for this shit. On one of these generals a while back one guy landed up successfully relocating a bunch of carpenter bees out his barn roof instead of killing them, and another planted up a bunch of pear trees. I mean, fucking hell. Anyway, space is everything. If you have space, the options are limitless. I can feed up to 100 Bumblebees a day in about a 20m square space so imagine what you can do. Related: Bombus Terrestris on a foxglove flower.
>>5119021Oh, one another tip: look into what Bumblebee and Solitary species are native to where you are and what their preferred foraging plants are. Bumblebees specially are evolved for sub-arctic meadowland; so basically your classic North American or European flower fields that sit between forested areas. Solitaries are the same and are also more specialised in shaded and rocky or other landscape variations. The next thing is Bumblebees are either short or long-tongued. The shorter longer tongue species can pretty much feed on anything but the shorter tongued can adapt very easily anyway. For instance, related is a Bombus Lucorum (short tongued) nectar robbing a Pulmonaria plant. So instead of going in via the long flower tube, she bites the nectary at the back and takes the nectar like that. It doesn’t damage the flower or anything but it’s just a smart evolutionary trait. This plant too, Pulmonaria (aka ‘Lungwort’), is very early flowering and massively, massively important to Solitaries, specifically the ‘Hairy Footed Flower Bee’ I keep going on about. This bee and this plant especially have pretty much co-evolved together for close to 60 million years (older than the Alps), so they are highly specialist in it. I guarantee you have this species where you are. They’re found across the northern hemisphere just called different things. So Pulmonaria loves shade. It loves dappled and even deep shade, and the sort of soil that is typical under trees (compost and humus rich). It’s the same family as Vipers Bugloss just the wooded area variation so again it’s highly productive in both nectar and pollen and because it’s so early (flowers from early spring to early summer and then goes into its leaf form for summer and winter) it’s another one that is very important for both Bumblebees (early queens especially) and Solitaries. And again, it’s 100% a hardy native wildflower so you can just seed and forget it and it’ll take care of itself.
>>5119051I have a couple of dead cedars in the back of my lot, should I fell them and drill holes for carpenter bees or leave them standing?
>>5119064100%, yes. You should probably fell them anyway, my man. Dead trees can cause a lot of issues if they’re left. But yeah, just drill holes sporadically, not too close. The smaller Solitaries will probably also use any natural cavities or holes in the wood as well. If you can try leave it all somewhere north facing or sheltered as they don’t like direct sunlight into their brood cells.
>>5119073This advice is WRONG. Please disregard. The follow up post to it was ALSO wrong. Fuck, sorry. The best thing to do is LEAVE the cedars where they are. So long as they have some sun exposure and are not at any risk of falling, Carpenter Bees will find them, if they haven’t already as this is an ideal wood for them. So no, don’t cut them down, please. There are likely a load of Solitaries in them already. Once again: I am truly sorry for being shit and saying wrong shit things.
>>5119087It's cool. I'm going to tie one so it doesn't take out the neighbor's fence but other than that (and making some more holes) I'll leave them alone.
>>5118909why he so sweaty
>>5119123SHE. All Bumblebees and most Solitaries you see are females. If you want a sweaty male, here is a Bumblebee Drones (I can’t tell what; probably Lapidarius) under some thistle one morning a few years ago in Scotland. They are all damp (including the female in the other shot) because of dew. Bumblebee drones do not forage and are booted out the colony as soon as they’re adults. They spend their brief lives in late summer sleeping under flowers like this and otherwise scentmarking for passing Queens to mate with them. Unlike their sisters, drones are born from unfertilised eggs and are 100% the mother’s DNA to ensure her genetic drift. >>5119089Sounds awesome. Keep an eye on them because apparently Carpenters really like Cedar. Sorry again for all the mad posting,
>>5117804I love these little guys like you wouldn't believe
>>5117655Might sound weird, but I've always seen certain animals as being among God's favorite. Just by the sheer among of complexity he put into it. Bees are definitely one of God's favorites. I think he probably likes crows too. Certain animals just got way too high of stats out the gate.
Idk if it's been posted already, but I've got a cool bug factIf an animal (squirrel, badger, possum, etc) tries to get into the hive for a honeycomb raid, the bees will swarm the animal and sting it to death. Then they'll encase the carcus in wax. The wax acts as a sterile barrier and doesn't allow the honey to be tainted by the bacteria of decaying flesh.Also, ever wonder why it pisses bees off if you blow on them? Carbon monoxide. You know why they have the instinct to sting you where you exhale from? Bears.
>>5119132Little ladies ;) But yeah, I feel ya.>>5119133I like this take, friend. I agree with you wholeheartedly. The more you get to know them, the more you see just how extraordinary they are. That little bee in that photo was hatched on a pea sized ball of pollen early last summer, spent three months as a grub, and then in her fully formed shape but translucent like glass for six months of winter in a little cell lined with a waterproof, antibacterial, perfectly regulated temperature coating lovingly made by her mother. No food, no light, no water, in a state of total biological stasis in a tiny hole hidden in a wall somewhere, waiting for the sun to come back. Perfectly made, perfectly formed, a never ending, unbroken, 60 million year miracle.>>5119137I didn’t know any of this. Very cool indeed.
>>5119272Bumblebees are literally my favorite frens. I love them so much. They don't even sting you unless you purposely fuck with them. They don't want to hurt anybody. They just wanna collect some pollen. What's the problem there?
>>5117649>Note that Mellifera (‘honey bees’) are NOT in crisis, are actually a major culprit in the decline of Bumblebees and Solitary Bees, and aren’t even native to most of the northern hemisphere anyway - so they are banned from this thread.Based>So are wasps which are just shit generally.CringeI shall, however, respect your wish. Have a local solitary bee (that looks very wasp-ish).
>>5118332>(bees diverged from wasps when a wasp began to gather pollen rather than insect flesh).Somewhat more specifically, most wasps pollinate, the adults typically feeding on nectar. Protein (prey) is for the young.Originally, wasps would lay eggs in or on said protein sources, which would happily continue to crawl around until eaten from the inside out.Then wasps evolved a stinger. This allowed them to subdue prey for their young, so now hosts could be carried into safe burrows. This is cool, because now birds could no longer eat the caterpillars the young wasps were eating (coincidentally, stinging wasps evolved shortly after birds).What happened next is unclear, maybe a wasp sated from nectar and doused in pollen accidentally dropped too much pollen on a captured caterpillar it was about to hide in its burrow, or maybe collecting pollen was simply easier than collecting caterpillars (leaning towards the latter myself). Regardless, wasp offspring began to be raised vegan rather than on meat, and that was that.
I wanna plant something nice for them in my veg garden, I always see them goin crazy on lavendars here in the UK
>>5119017Is viper's bugloss prone to spreading? If it's gonna keep to its place I can plant this. They never seemed super weedy when I've seen them around
>>5119277Nah, you good, friend. I don’t mind posts about Vesper. I’ll still take them over fucking ‘honey bees’ any day and there are a few posts about them already (that I am studiously ignoring) so it’s all good. Have a little Melitta to say thanks. It’s good to point out in the thread how strikingly like wasps many Solitaries look so people are aware when it comes to mistaking them.
>>5119274Yup. I literally just pick them up and move them now. It’s not ideal but they can carry only a maximum of 40 minutes of nectar supplies so if they’re inside it’s critical to get them out as soon as possible. Which reminds me - if anyone does find a Bumblebee in crisis (crawling around on ground, looking weak or dazed), move them to the nearest flower. Alternatively, give them a mix of sugar and water or jam juice or fruit juice and water (keep the ratios higher to water so it’s thin enough to drink but concentrated enough with sugar). NEVER give them honey. Honey is packed with parasites and viruses that they’ll carry back to the colony so avoid at all costs.
>>5119290You are my new favourite friend. Thank you for helping them. Bumblebees are the major pollinators of both legumes (all beans) and tomatoes. Pretty much every tomato you eat was pollinated by a Bumblebee (often shipped in from commercial hatcheries in Israel as an interesting aside). People who grow their own often report bumper or better crops when their local Bumblebees have pollinated. As mentioned up thread they use a particular mechanism called ‘buzz pollination’ where they unlock their wings but stay vibrating so the tomato flower releases its pollen. Very cool to watch. Other vegetables and herb plants they love: Borage (this is always worth planting in a vegetable garden as it’s one of the best fertiliser plants when it breaks down; also has fully edible leaves and flowers that taste like fresh cucumber so very nice in a salad). Potatoes. All the herbs like thyme, mint, rosemary, etc. Alliums (garlic and onions - produce beautiful blue orb flowers and if you cut them occasionally the scent drives off aphids and other pests). And then the squash family - pumpkins, courgettes (zucchini), and squashes (all have very big, massive pollen producing flowers Bumblebees will occasionally nap in, too.
>>5119280Yeah, I’m inclined to agree with you. Looks like at some point a wasp realised the pollen was easier to carry and was just as viable a source of protein as insect flesh. There was definitely a co-evolution thing going on because while both bees (in their diverged state) and flowering plants had been around a good 60 million years prior to the Yucatan event that took out the dinosaurs, there was a massive explosion of angiosperms after. And round about then is when you start to see specific traits in Bumblebees and Solitaries like the development of long tongues, pollen baskets, and so on. Some theories are that flowering plants had a chance to flourish simply because they weren’t being trampled by dinosaur massive feet. Anyway, you then start to see, too, plants begin to specialise for certain bees. Like the Plumipes I’ve talked about throughout the thread - that little bee has been a specialist pollinator for the Pulmonaria, nettle, and other early spring plants for literally 60 million years, and these plants have specifically evolved their colours, shapes, etc. just to attract these little early spring Solitaries. Interestingly, there is still a meat-eating bee, though. Usually found in the Americas and called Vulture Bees (related) that feed on carrion. Even more interestingly, they’re stingless, too, and create a type of meat ‘honey’ for their grubs.
>>5119296Thanks for the info, it's good to hear the veg work well for the bees, I'll spare some space for "bee optimal" plants as wellI have to be a bit cautious of introducing weedy plants because it's a communal allotment, but I'm sure I can pick up some nice stuff
Here's a cool bee I saw
>>5119298Happened at least thrice, too. Bees, pollen wasps, and Mexican honey wasps.Can't say it's a bad strategy when three different groups get the same idea.
>>5119300This a nice little Solitary. Possibly a Mining Bee. For general info, most bees on Earth are solitary (like 99% of the total 26,000 or so species). They can often be confused with wasps so a good way to tell it’s a bee is as follows:1. It has a fuzzy, hairy abdomen (there is only one clade of wasps that have hair which are the ‘Velvet Ants’ but they are very bright red or gold and basically just look like hairy ants [bees, wasps, ants, and sawflies are all one giant superfamily so you get a lot of similarities]). All other wasps are smooth and hairless. 2. It doesn’t have that distinct wasp waist which is very noticeable in wasps. It also has hairy legs, unlike wasps which are always waxy and smooth. 3. Its eyes are more almond shaped whereas wasps have more kidney-shaped, smaller eyes. Plus its antenna are much longer for feeling out flowers, unlike wasps’ shorter ones. 4. Its flight pattern will be more meandering and inspecting as opposed to the wasps’ kamikaze death from above fuckeverything bullshit.5. Because Solitaries come in a huge array of colours from rusty browns to even blues and greens, and sizes from large like Carpenter Bees to tiny like Andrena, expect to see a lot of variation in shape and features but these core ones listed above will be true for all of them.Kind of important to know so cheers for posting it and thanks for the nice photo. I saved it.
>>5119304> Mexican Honey WaspHuh. I had no idea about these. Just looked ‘em up. Another native species fucked around with by Mellifera colonisation I see. Fuck, I hate those things. Based info; thanks, man.
>>5119299No, that’s a valid concern (I know what allotment people are like lmao). Of the vegetables and herbs listed there you won’t have any seed issues. The only thing that might give you issues is Borage but this is easy to deal with. Borage can grow pretty much in any soil but if you put it in rich loamy usual vegetable soil, it’ll sprawl in big leafy leaves and its flowers will be slower and more floppy. So a better way to do it if you’re space limited is seed it into containers. It has a tap root so it’s better to use slightly longer ones than the usual plant pots. Attached is one I’m going to seed with Borage this week and then the soil I use. This is a 7 litre ‘rose pot’ about 26cm long which is ideal. If you ask around the allotment, anyone who grows roses (which I consider to be a weed personally) will have a few of these lying around. Alternatively you can pick them up for a few quid from a garden centre or B&Q etc. They’re very common. The soil mix there I mix myself (60% top soil to 20% grit and 20% gravel with two handfuls of foxglove compost but any compost is fine). But basically any poor soil you find is fine. Like around the allotment you’ll see dry barren soil patches, just fill it up with that and mix in a handful of of compost. Seeding about now will take two months to flower. Plant is very easy on water and prefers just damp to dry soil. The advantages are twofold: 1) it will bring in and feed massive amounts of Bumblebees that will then help pollinate your other plants for about two to three months - so all summer, 2) When the flowers fade, put a plastic bag over the flower head and cut off so you don’t get any seed dispersal (that still takes a few weeks anyway), and then just lay the leaves and everything else on your vegetable soil. Borage is one of the best fertiliser plants and will massively improve your soil. So no seeds, no weeds, just 100% benefits for both Bumblebees and you. Does that all make sense?
>>5119316Shit, sorry. I keep forgetting 4chan has this dumb glitch on photos.
>>5119292I swear to God, man, if you do this you will be my hero for all time. I rent a with a small back patio so do all this in pots but I’m saving up to put a deposit down for an empty field with the worst soil possible I’ll camp in and just grow so much Vipers Bugloss, it can be seen from space. There are a lot of myths around this plant so here are some helpful clarifications. Vipers Bugloss is a biannual so only flowers in its second year. First year it makes a rosette of leaves and starts sending down its tap root. Contrary to the usual lies, this tap root will die if you cut it about 10cm below the surface. You do NOT need to dig up the whole root. If you don’t want them, just literally trowel the first year rosette. Also, Vipers Bugloss seeds are pretty heavy so don’t disperse far and tend to congregate around the mother plant (related) which is why you usually see them in clusters - in fact, it’s pretty difficult to field seed them. Now here are the benefits: 1. Vipers Bugloss is the number one Bumblebee and Solitary Bee feeding plant on the planet. There is no other plant like it. It’s part of the borage family, all prolific nectar/pollen producers but it outstrips even them by every metric. Unlike most flowers that need a nectar refill time of 24 hours, Bugloss produces a constant steam of nectar throughout its flower cycle. No other plant on the earth does this. Even borage (a close second) takes about 2 to 5 minutes to refill but Bugloss is a never-ending tap. The average flower produces nectar at a 20% to 30% sugar to water ratio. Bugloss is 50% to 60%. So not only constant nectar but extremely high value.2. Vipers Bugloss tap roots will massively improve and aerate the soil they’re in. Like all borages, their leaves are packed with nitrogen and minerals you can compost or just chuck over your other plants.So I think I covered everything but lemme know if not. Please do this anyway if you can. Sun, poor soil, that’s it.
>>5119322Oh and just to add to this, after it flowers in its second year, the whole Vipers Bugloss plant dies off so if you want to get rid of it, just cut down the flowers before they go to seed and that’s it. There’s rest will just die off totally, tap root and all. I’m setting all this out because there’s a lot of shit chatted about this plant that simply isn’t true. It’s also not ‘toxic!’ and is totally fine around livestock which hate its bristly leaves anyway. Remember as well, it likes very, gery, very poor soil. I grew one once in a three foot fucking pot and half of it was literally rubble like bricks and shit. The poorer, the better. It’s evolved for inner coastal scree so sandy, rocky, very impoverished. The main thing it needs is full sun and the rest it’ll deal with it itself.
I'm posting this here, even though it might be one of the "undesirables" from OPs perspective, but I am curious.So I got this wasp like insect living inside of my metallic balcony rail. There are small holes on each side of the rail. I am not 100% certain that it's living there alone, although I am pretty sure it does as observing revealed that it may take up to 10 minutes for it to leave its hole and come back, so traffic is very sparsely, which tells me they are solitary.On the opposite end of my balcony rail I observed one of them too entering its hole the past years, but this year I did not see one yet, so it might be abandoned. My balcony rail has a divide in its middle, so the holes on both ends don't lead to the same interior. At times I have seen the same kind of wasps purposefully flying towards my neighbors balconies, so I assume many of their rails are inhabited too.My location is middle europe, but I don't know what they are. They also absolutely mind their own business. In summer I sometimes leave my door wide open, which leads to flies and bees often entering my apartment. But even though my door is only ~2 meters / ~6.6 feet from its hole, not once did one of those wasps (?) enter through the door, so I assume they deliberately avoid human living quarters, even though they choose to live that close to us.The attached sequence of entrance approximately took course over the span of 5 seconds. I absolutely was not able to get a clear shot of the hole, it's too close to the wall so my phone could not focus on it
>>5119348Here is another entrance sequence I got plus close ups as best as it gets. This took course over the span of approximately 15 seconds, but it might have been nervous as a human was waving around a phone above the entrance of its phone
>>5119349entrance of its *homedammit
>>5119348No, you can post about wasps in here. I just said that to get interest but also I’ve had issues with wasp bros in my previous Bombus generals so it was also me red flagging them fuckers. Anyway, I know this girl. It’s a Paper Wasp; you can tell from the antenna that look like they’ve been dipped in orange paint. They predate caterpillars and other small insects, not Bumblebees or Solitaries so I’ve got not issue with them. She’s almost certainly a queen setting up a colony which is usually not many - maybe 20 wasps total (at most, more like 15 maybe). They’re known for nesting in human architecture but they’re also amongst the most chill (and common) wasps. Also, just like Bumblebees, they’re one colony nesters. So end of summer, she’ll die off and her daughter queens will disperse so they won’t reuse your rail again. If you’re fine with them hanging around for the summer you won’t get any issues with them. They’re very, very relaxed.
>>5117833sorry I just had to post this, it reminded me of this https://x.com/benwehrman/status/2044129100022067382?s=20
>>5119354Oh, sure. Related is an image taken using ultraviolet spectrometry showing how flowers utilise sugar pathways to create specific information for bees like nectar location and so on.
Went to check out the garden center, needed strawberries anyway so they're in but the rest they have is mostly the boomer favourites. Did see a nice Ajuga but I think I'll grow from seed>>5119316I actually have some of those pots I needed something to do with, you can get em free out the back of co-op in the recycling. I'll do some borage for sureThanks for the instructions.>>5119322I will get some seed, no flowers till next year but I guess I can seed two years running and they'll sort themselves out going forward.Will be nice to have them growing actually as I've always been a fan of the Boraginaceae, nice to have them in, shame I can't do green alkanet as its said to be weedy.
I'm admittedly not big into bumblebees, but I'm highly entertained by the raw, uncontained seethe at Apis mellifera in this thread.
>>5119365It's a seethe I share, mind you.
>>5119368Death to urbanites putting bee hives on their roofs to Safe the bees'And to captchas.
Only just related but I never would get to discuss them otherwise, hoverflies are cool and often mimic bees. They do their own fair share of pollination and also feed on aphidsHere's a cool one I saw, they can be tricky to ID but this is ID'd as Volucella inflata
>>5119365I haven’t even begun to start discussing the little cunts yet. Just wait. Excellent macros, by the way. Xerces is based af and all Americans should be signing up to them. >>5119363You can get Bugloss plugs now. I just ordered six off Hayloft for twenty quid. Potting them in my poor soil mix in 55cm planters for next year. So they’ll do the rosette stage this summer, go dormant over winter, then be in full 1m+ flower for next May. Great news on the Borage, fren. Related is another shot of my soil mix so you get an idea again (this is dry, the other shot was it wet so this shows it more clearly). As you can see, it’s extremely extremely dry and gritty. Ajuga is a great little plant, by the way. Much beloved by Bumblebees as well. Very nice to plant between paving stones or right on border edges as it stays nice and low and compact.
>>5119397I ignore these little guys when they come in but they are super chill. They never bother any of my bees and just generally hang out getting little bits of nectar that gets left behind.
>>5119369This. Death to them all. The fucking mega retard fucks.
Since dead wood has been discussed as a nesting site, it's worth noting that a hell of a lot of bees like to nest in the soil. Much like the plants OP mentioned, they're fairly keen on 'poor', sandy (not the playground kind) soils in particular.A 2' x 2' spot in the garden is already plenty.
>>5119482Also aesthetically pleasing, if you ask me.
>>5119482That’s very true. In fact, mining bees generally are the oldest of the bee world and still mimic the original proto-wasp ancestor of all Hymenoptera. Most likely a desert wasp about 200 million years ago during the Triassic who would lay an insect in a hole, place an egg on top of it, cover it, lay another insect, egg, cover, etc. Then at some point one of these wasps realised she could raise a first generation of workers and so you got the eusocial wasps branching off. And this is all core DNA coded so when bees diverged, they did the same adaptations as necessary. But mining bees (including the Plumipes I keep mentioning) retained this ancient methodology. Related is the ‘Pantaloon Bee’ (dasypoda) in the order Melitidae. This clade is probably the most ancient and unlike other bees, remains a specialist for specific plants and desert conditions. The hairy back legs give her extraordinary mining abilities and make her exceptionally niche like most mining bees are. And yes, like all Solitaries, they are aesthetic af.
>>5119435That soil really is fucked, I finally have a use for all the rocks I took out the veg beds. Cheers anon I'll send you an update once I've got some stuff in.
i unfortunately rarely come across non–western honeybee bees, though i did see two big carpenter bees today: presumably either a western or valley carpenter bee given my locationmy favorite pollinator might be the tarantula hawk
>>5119577Are you in the US? You won’t ever come across native ‘honeybees’ because there are none that are native to the US. Every single honeybee in the US is an imported species that is actually someone’s rogue livestock, strip mining your environment. Same is true if you’re in Europe - the only ‘native’ ‘honeybee’ in Europe or the UK is A. Mellifera mellifera (the ‘Black Honey Bee’ - a sub-species that sort of wandered up a few thousand years ago so not strictly native) but these are now so rare they’re bordering on extinction, too. And yes, again: because of the ‘honeybee’ that is outcompeting and destroying their habitats. >>5119575It really is but this is what they prefer. These plants (much like Vipers Bugloss) evolved in depleted inner coastal arid areas (for borage, likely North Africa) so they get all their nutrients basically by leaching those rocks (limestone is ideal). Related are mine in 11L pots (too big) about 25cm deep. This is less than one month of growth from a 9cm plug planted on 31 March. Already beginning to flower. Note the leaves are much smaller with more concentration on the stems and flower heads. People plant borage in compost or standard garden loam and then cry because they become great big leaf monsters that never flower, and this is why. So mix for any literage is 60% top soil, 20% grit, 20% gravel, and about 500ml of stirred in compost. When the flower heads start separating then mulch a thin layer of compost on the top and lightly water in. Keep water to a minimum once plant is established. Aim for very very dry slightly damp. And yeah, keep me posted, friend. I’m running this general all summer so I’m very keen to keep an eye on what everyone’s doing.
Ordered a litre pot of common comfrey, what should I do once it arrives? I can't transplant to soil so it will have to remain pot bound, will it spread easily despite only being in a pot? It's not Bocking 14 variety as far as I am aware.
>>5119580>Are you in the US?yes, i meant to convey that i don't come across bees in general that aren't western honeybees, at least not the ones i get close enough to see
This guy is Bombus vestalis, one of the cuckoo bees who steal the nest and enslave the workers of the common buff-tailed bumblebee
>>5119581It will be fine, but needs a decent size pot for the roots. I've seen 20 litre quoted as minimum volumeThey do well in light shade, and you can prune the flowering stems in the first season to help them establish quickerA rich compost/regular feeding does well for the leafy growth
>>5119581Oh and if you do have the non-sterile type, they are known to spread and be kinda annoying. Could be fine in a pot if you keep it away from places to spread to, or remove the flowers before they go to seed
>>5119581Nah, it’s got a massive tap root. It’ll die if you leave it in there. Two options: 1) put it in a 20L pot with about 50cm of height. 2) (my preference) take it to a local park in the dead of night and plant it. Along with Vipers Bugloss and Borage, Comfrey is one of the top three Bumblebee plants on the planet (they’re all the same family). Choose a spot that would be semi sun during the day and away from manicured lawns so the fucking useless groundsmen don’t spot it. Like near a hedge or bramble or some kind of wild thicket. It’s a nitrogen hog (unlike its other two cousins) so near some trees is best but somewhere it’ll get a fair amount of sun. Who gives a fuck if it seeds then. The more of it there is fucking everywhere the better. >>5119583Yeah, well the US has lost I think six Bumblebee species now and I think another six are bordering extinction. Overall, about one quarter of all Bumblebees in the US by population are critically endangered. Write to your local politicians and congressional representatives and tell them you demean action be taken and apis mellifera (the ‘honeybee’ that is not in any way endangered) needs to be eradicated as the ecological disaster it is. >>5119584All Bumblebees and Solitaries have some form of cuckoo. They’re still true Bumblebees so we generally consider them as such anyway. They relatively speaking only get into a very small number of colonies anyway because there’s no evolutionary advantage to them being so succesful they wipe out their hosts. It’s just a necessary survival throttle and, again, this is all behaviour that traces back for hundreds of millions of years to the core proto ancestor of all Hymenoptera including wasps so it’s basically just another adaptation model. Cuckoos are literally nothing compared to the damage ‘honeybees’ are doing to Bumblebees and Solitaries. Not even a drop.
>>5119589> annoying Haha. No. Comfrey is one of the best Bumblebee plants on earth. They should be seeded fucking everywhere.
>>5119595>Write to your local politicians and congressional representatives and tell them you demean action be taken and apis mellifera (the ‘honeybee’ that is not in any way endangered) needs to be eradicated as the ecological disaster it is.I don't disagree with the notion, but you ain't gonna get any politician or layman to agree with that.Xerces' soft approach of educating as many people as possible about the matter is more likely to yield results.That, and exexuting celebrities and journalists who tearfully tell everyone about how endangered honeybees are.On a sidenote, I just learned that Piotr Naskrecki is associated with Xerces. What a legend.Finally, my balkony faces northward, and while I'm quite interested in wasps (we'll include solitary bees in this), I have absolutely zero experience with gardening. Any suggestions for shade-loving plants that could help out the odd parasitoid (or solitary bee)? Beginner friendly would be great.Mostly solitary bees since parasitoids tend not to be specialised on plants, but I have to keep up appearances.
>>5119596Whoops, my answer got a bit too gardener-ish.>>5119595>necessary survival throttleIndeed, these checks and balances are very necessaryI've seen some ants who follow the same lifestyle
>>5119604Quite an interesting challenge! If you give me a rough idea of where you are (no cities or states but general region) I can look up some ideas for you. Shade loving plants generally tend to be white (i.e. the deeper shade foxgloves). You might not get nesting vesper but if you grow for their target prey (like parsley which I know gets caterpillar issues) you’ll likely get interest. A big one here is also hanging ivy. That brings in small insects which brings in spiders which will then bring in wasps. It’s also a late winter, very early spring flowering plant so will bring in Solitaries as well. One note on all this, though: wasps are hyper opportunistic and very cunning. If they spot your plants are attracting Solitaries they’ll follow them back to their nesting sites for an easy grub meal. But yeah, gimme a rough idea and I’ll look around for you. Shade plants that attract bees tend to have much higher nectar and pollen loads and tend to do better overall simply because of the light disadvantage so you’ll definitely get interest anyway. >>5119610Well, the general scientific view is if a cuckoo takes over a colony, the Bumblebee queen that’s thrown out will just forage until death but I don’t think this is true at all. This is an animal that’s been living on the edge for tens of millions of years so I think it’s much more likely, she’ll just dump her drones. Cuckoos tend to target colonies at the beginning of summer so while she’ll have lost her colony, she’ll be going into peak feeding season. Very easy to set up a few drone cells. They’re fastest to grow and take almost zero effort like the females do. Wasp queens do this when they lose a colony so it’s pretty logical. That, and wasp queens will also just find another colony like hers and kill that queen to take over so Bombus might do this, too. There’s no real science on it because they’re hard to track but makes much more sense to me than “oh and then she died”.
>>5119351>It’s a Paper WaspThanks, neat to know>If you’re fine with them hanging around for the summer you won’t get any issues with them. They’re very, very relaxed.Absolutely, they seem to be chill and I like to observe them>So end of summer, she’ll die off and her daughter queens will disperse so they won’t reuse your rail again.That one does not entirely check out, I moved into this apartment in 2019 and each summer since then I observed that the hole was occupied by at least one paper wasp. Maybe there is so much space in the balcony rail for them that they don't abandon it? The part of the rail that they might have access to is ~4 meters / ~13 feet long
>>5119643Well, yeah, it could just be an optimum nesting site. It’ll be warm with no risk from predators and they’ll scent detect a successful colony had been raised there before. My point was more you don’t need to worry about them building on top of an existing nest and becoming a larger and larger colony. If you cut a cross section into the rail, you’d see a bunch of withering old nests and then the single new one. It might seem like there are a lot in there because you’ve seen them coming and going for a few years but it’s more because it’s an optimal site - they’re still very small by colony size than say hornets. Again, this is a lot like bees. You get your solitary wasps, then the congregating wasp (in bees: Carpenter Bees, Collette’s Bees, etc.), then the eusocial which can range from a small colony like this (and bumblebees) to massive hive type operations (like mellifera, etc). Either way, they obviously like it there and aren’t doing any harm and they’ll take care of any pests in your vicinity too so it’s win win all round.
>>5119349Oh, one thing I wanted to mention in these photos, by the way - when you see her rearing up like that and waving her arms, this is her warning you to back up. You see this exact same behaviour in Bumblebees as well and is often misrepresented by the fucking morons as the Bumblebee “high fiving” them. So yes, she didn’t like being so closely approached but this again indicates how chill these little animals are.
This thread has been so cool to read through. I always figured bumblebees were just loosely related to bees and that was that.Thanks to the anon(s?) who're posting all this interesting information about them. My parents have some property in the countryside so I'll try to read up on what I could do to help out these cute bugs.Also, here's the closest picture I ever took of a bee. This was sometime in the summer; she(?) was walking around on the moss for some reason.
these girls build their nests in my garden table and always have to fly between my legs to find their holes lmao. Osmia bicornis
>>5119850This is a great post, thank you. My goal with these generals is to spread the reality of what’s going on so people can help spread the word too. The bee in your image is a ‘honeybee’ (Apis mellifera), specifically the ‘Western Honeybee’; this is the species that is causing so much devastation for Bumblebees and Solitaries. She was likely on the moss to pick up water if it was a hot day. For a quick summary (I will do longer posts on this): there are about 26,000 species of bee on earth. The vast majority of these (easily 99%) are Solitary Bees (different species). About 250 are Bumblebees, and about 11 are ‘honeybees’. Of the ‘honeybees’, about 10 are only found in Asia. The rest are this bee, Apis mellifera, and its sub-species (of which there are about 30 worldwide). Mellifera originated somewhere in the Levant. From there, it was taken by humans first into Europe, then into America, and then worldwide. Some drifted into Africa with human migration, and one species, again with human interference, adapted into Europe as a wild bee (the ‘European Black Bee’ now very rare).‘Honeybees’ are NOT native to pretty much anywhere. The overwhelming majority of them are this bee in your image, the ‘Western Honeybee’. This is a FARMED bee. It is someone’s livestock. It is NOT endangered. It is no different to you finding a chicken and someone telling you to ‘save it!’ because you want to save wild birds. The bee in your image is NOT wild; she’s come from someone’s hive. She is livestock, not wild.This bee is causing absolute devastation to wild bees like Bumblebees and Solitaries because they have massive hives that strip the traditional foraging plants of those bees which are already under pressure from farming, etc. Not only that, they bring viruses and parasites that native wild bees get decimated by. So the best thing you can do to help Bumblebees and Solitaries is spread the word and tell everyone you can.
>>5119887You lucky fucker. Post pics, bro.
>>5119893I'm afraid they aren't very active anymore. Or maybe the red mason bee already is losing their colouration and I can't tell them apart from other bees on the fly (pun intended). Here's a finished nest.
>>5119903Well, they’re coming to the end of their season. Much like A. Plumipes (the ‘Hairy Footed Flower Bee’ I keep going on about), they’re early spring Solitaries and their window starts closing about now until end May, beginning June. That photo is fucking based. Look at that superb work. To give you some idea of what’s going on in there: the female will have mined deep into that wood. Unlike Plumipes that lines the cells in brick and stone, Osmia uses mud to partition each cell. She places about a pea sized ball of pollen and nectar in each cell and then lays an egg on it. She does the same process all the way through until the end (with the last few eggs being unfertilised eggs which are males, so 100% her DNA). Then she seals up the hole as you see there using her own mucus and mud to make a type of hard mortar. She then dies off once the season is finished but will make quite a few of these brood tunnels. From about June when it hatches through to August, the little bee grub will eat all that pollen ball the mother left it. It then enters a pre-pupal stage I refer to as ‘glass bee’ - so it’s fully formed but looks like transluscent wax, and it just stays like that to ride out the winter. Round about late winter, its transluscent body now having hardened and turning black which is its pupal stage, it then break out and is a the fully formed bee you see now. It then waits while the males at the front (who are smaller and develop faster) break that mortar seal and start dispersing. They’ve evolved this trait over tens of millions of years to ensure the males get out first and start mating before the females emerge. So what you’ve photographed there is an absolute biologically super machine of evolutionary precision and survival. Thanks for posting it - I saved it.
>>5119911>the female will have mined deep into that wood.>worried.jpgThey are using the entries where the screws go. I just hope they were saving work and used their perfect little holes without tearing more apart than necessary.
>>5119915No, no, just ignore me. Honestly, there are so many fucking types of Solitary that I’m just confused most of the time. Osmia is a Masonry bee, not a carpenter (like Carpenter Bees). You get different nesting functions across all Solitaries. So like Megachilidae (the leaf cutters), Andrena (the soil diggers), Xylocopa (the wood borers - only Carpenter Bees have the necessary powerful jaws), Halectidae (the deep ground borer Sweat Bees), and then your Osmia (the waddle and daub mud wall builders). So I was wrong. She’s just using the hole that’s there as a one time brood cell. She hasn’t mined anything. Sorry for the unnecessary panic. I’m shit.
>>5119888I guess I may as well ask: I imagine there isn't much difference in the kind of plants & flowers to use in order to help these bees out between NA and Europe, right?(pic is just something random i had saved ages ago). I know there's already a solid amount of advice in the thread so I'm curious whether I would need to take things like "what plants to the local/native species prefer"
>>5119942Whereabouts are you? You can just say like generally (like Northern Europe) or whatever. I have a post planned for the American bros with a really helpful .pdf but Europe I can just do as people ask so then I can find what’s local and what they prefer. Native plants are always better because they’re evolved with them in most cases and they’re seasonal as well as much easier to grow. The main thing they need more than anything is food but you’d be amazed how much you can do with even the smallest space. My back garden is literally this big and I have to carefully negotiate stuff with the sun but by summer you’ll see how packed this whole area is with Bumblebees. So yeah, if you want, gimme a general idea where you are and I’ll help with some recommendations. Even a window box can be a powerhouse feeder.
>>5119994What's that in the back, Phlox?Can there be any issues with cultivars, broadly speaking? For instance double flowered cultivars don't seem very useful.By the way for UK anons, celtic wildflowers are selling little viper's bugloss plugs for 6 quid for 5, I guess these may be smaller than the ones at hayloft but decent price.
>>5119994I'd be where the Körös rivers flow. What resources do you use to figure this stuff out? Or is it just something you've studied for a long while and are disgustingly documented in?
>>5120007It’s just been a hobby interest of mine for a while so I know a fair bit about UK and US bombus but I use AI now for anything like this. Anyway, apparently you have the Shrill Carder Bumblebee (related) which is lucky as fuck. This Bumblebee is now critically endangered in the UK but apparently doing well where you are (a lot of European countries still have the preferable meadowland habitats for these wild bees). Also the Ruderal (Large Garden Bumblebee), another one bordering on extinction in the UK. And B. Haematurus (Red Banded Bulmblebee); apparently moving more into your area of the world. Of the Solitaries, noticeable standouts you have include my favourite as posted up thread (A. plumipes - the Hairy Footed Flower Bee), the Velvet Carpenter Bee, and the Tawny Mining Bee (a beautiful little bee if you ever see one - really pretty). So for all these bees, anything in the Borage family (so again: Vipers Bugloss, Comfrey, Borage, Pulmonaria) are ideal. Also, yours is the traditional home of the Salvias, a huge family of very dependable Bumblebee and Solitary feeders that are perfectly suited for your specific environmental, I also believe it gets hot and dry where you are in summer so this is where the big beast borages like Vipers Bugloss and Borage will be massively helpful. So that gives you an overview - lemme know if you want what your specific conditions are like (space, sun, what you can be bothered doing) and I can help you with specific ideas. Again, only if you want. The most important thing of all is that you spread the word and keep telling everyone you know that these bees are in trouble and need food so just plant flowers fucking everywhere.
>>5120106Tawny Mining Bee that landed on my decking a couple of weeks ago for a bit of a warmth soak. These early Solitaries can often be found in sunny spots to warm up. Also very, very tiny so you’ll often miss them. Very beautiful bee. This photo doesn’t do it justice at all. Another one that still follows the same 200+ million year nesting habits of the original proto-wasp (ground nesting with a single egg deposit, etc). >>5119997That’s a great tip actually, cheers, Bugloss needs a whole summer to get going for next years’ massive flower spikes so smaller is actually better. Also, by the wall? Nemesia. It’s just a backup for my Plumipes while I wait for the Borage to come in (right at back by fence). And yes, anything double avoid at all costs. Also anything ‘ornamental’ like fucking roses. I rented somewhere once and the guy had fucking ‘ornamental cherry trees’. Completely sterile, no nectar, no pollen. The absolute state of it. One of the most depressing sights I’ve ever seen watching early Queen Bumblebees come in and frantically looking for food in them. Terrible. Anyway, one of them got a canker on its side so I left it to get really chronic then grafted it on to the others so the whole lot died. Told the landlord “shit, man, I’m so sorry, lemme replace these for you as I shoulda spotted that” and brought in six more fully established, fully fertile. Dumb fuck never even noticed. Anyway, I drive by occasionally and they’re doing great. So yes, avoid the bullshit and deal with it wherever you find it.
>>5120108>ornamental cherry treesI never considered that they had sterile ones. Although now I think about it, there's a doubled cherry nearby. Lining up a bunch of deformed eunuchs so that you can glance at them once in a while, its always quite gross to see.I'm wondering about cultivars that just have changes in flower colour, size etc. and if that decreases bee interest. I'd guess bees prefer the natural form, though I've been poking around on the RHS website and they do consider some fun cultivars as "good for pollinators" so I guess this isn't a major concern
>>5120159Yeah, they don’t want to fruit “messing up” their fucking lawns. Lawn is a desert to a Bumblebee but these cunts are just lazy. All they need to do is clear the fruit with a rake if they don’t want the nutrient payload back into their soil, and the birds take most of it anyway. I have a plum tree in the next door garden that deposits straight onto this composite decking and it drops so little that the birds haven’t got that I barely notice it. On double cultivars - the RHS is a little tactical and not quite honest (pressure from the mellifera lobby). Double cultivars are basically mutated stamens to give those extra petals. In some doubles you might get a tiny amount of residual nectar but too little to be viable and definitely no pollen. Related is a dianthus (the baseline ancestor of ornamental carnations). See the stamens? If you can see the stamens, then there is pollen and nectar in there and despite it looking like it’s very dense, Bumblebees and Solitaries can get into it and it’ll deliver for them. So that’s my rule for any of them - if I can see the stamens, no matter how dense the petals, I know it’s good for my bees.
>>5120106>lemme know if you want what your specific conditions are likeNot sure what there is to say honestly. There's a lot of space to put things down as we haven't set much up yet. I'm not sure what I could tell you in terms of sunlight - if it helps: we have a bunch of tomato plants set up and they've done great every year. In terms of what I can bother doing - it's mostly my parents who take care of the place as I'm away for most of the year, so things that don't require watering too often would be ideal.I'm actually visiting this weekend, so it would be fun to go and set some things up together. I'll take the advice you've given so far into account.
>>5120289Well, if you can grow tomatoes then you definitely have full sun. Full sun is considered five or more hours a day with the best being from 10am to 3pm, but any five hours is good enough. More is even better. Bumblebees love tomatoes by the way and are the only bee capable of pollinating them. The more Bumblebees you attract, the better your tomatoes will be. So ok if you have the sun and space and you want little watering then I’m obviously going to suggest Vipers Bugloss. This plant flowers in the second year but in the first year it sets leaves while it throws down a long tap root. It likes very, very poor soil so anywhere where you might have bare patches or hard ground with a lot of stone is ideal for it. It seeds itself once it’s flowered in the second year (the whole plant dies off) but the seeds stay close to the mother plant. If you can get some (and I believe they’re easy to find in your part of the world), I’d suggest just chucking some on an open piece of ground and then seeing what happens. I outlined more about it here >>5119327 and here >>5119322.Other than that, Borage seeds planted now will flower this year and again are a massive Bumblebee and Solitary favourite. Again, it likes very poor soil and a lot of sun and will cope with very little water once it’s established. If you do seed though, make sure the seeds are covered with a little soil as they need darkness to germinate. Also it tastes like light cucumber and the whole plant is edible including the leaves and flowers.Then the third choice, again needs full sun (five or more hours) is Phacelia. This is a huge favourite of Bumblebees and Solitaries again, is very tough once it gets going, and will also improve your soil, in fact, farmers mass seed it here in the UK to increase their soil nutrition and call it ‘green manure’. Very, very helpful plant.So those are just some suggestions if you’re interested but like I say, awareness is the most crucial thing.
Got some Borage seeds in modules, and some scraggly Viper's Bugloss plugs potted up. They'll chill here in this disgustingly rich soil for a little while till I amend their real bed with gravel and sand in a few days.Also got some lavendar, comfrey and Nemesia I'm workin on so looking pretty good really. As the year goes on I'll pop in some more stuff if I spot some gaps in the flowering
>>5120610Holy fucking based. What a beautiful site to see that is. Expect those beasts to sprawl their leaves once they’re in the ground but just trust the process. This time next year you will witness the sheer unadulterated majesty of the planet’s top Bumblebee and Solitary feeder. You’ll see bees you didn’t even know existed. Outstanding. Keep me posted on how they go and also the Borage, if you don’t mind, friend. Also great haul all round. Comfrey is the third of the Bumblebee Big Three (Vipers Bugloss, Borage, Comfrey). All real powerhouses. Related is one is my second wave Borages potted up today. Looked a little light so sprinkled a tiny amount of pond buffer on top for added calcium and magnesium .
Shifting shit around so I can get my first wave borages into maximum sun. This whole set up proves you don’t need a lot of space or even predictable sun to plant for Bumblebees and Solitaries. You just need the will and a little elbow grease.
>>5120714Comfrey roots potted up. 10 for £15 bocking cultivar off ebay niceI'm really looking forward to seeing some cool bees, I hope it all works out well. Thanks for your advice. They're replacing the fields next to my allotment with a housing estate at the moment, so hopefully this will help them out
This is optimum borage for Bumblebee feeding, by the way. You’ll often see this plant with great big sprawling leaf systems and then late flower heads. This plant is a ‘pioneer plant’ native to Syria (but originating from a borage ancestor in North Africa). It has two choices when it seeds - maximise its leaves if conditions are nutrient dense for spread; or panic the fuck out if they’re not and flower madly and intensely to reproduce by seed. So by potting it into a very poor soil mix with occasional targeted light composting and mineral adjustment, you get these very thick robust stalks, multiple flower heads, and minimal leafage. Once it flowers it gets more water for nectar production but cut back every flower stalk the second it fades and never let it develop seed pods. Compost any cuttings as it’s one of the best composting plants.
>>5120807Nice, man. You truly are doing the Lord’s work. Let that Bugloss seed freely once it flowers (or just chuck around any seeds you might have now). Once it’s in an area, it’ll always find a way and it’s the most reliable when they have nothing else. Most people don’t even notice if until it flowers and the flowers are so striking most people then just leave it and assume it’s ’lavender’ (no, really). Bocking is THE best Comfrey, too. Based, based, based. When I get the space in my own place one day I’ll definitely plant a whole bed with it. Anyway, that pic is giving me great feelings of joy. This is why I love these generals and you awesome bastards. >>5120804This plant here by the way is an experiment. That’s a 20cm pot (18cm real soil depth) and while the other first wave Borages are now about to drop flowers, this has only just begun to develop a flower head. This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Borage needs an absolute minimum of 23cm soil depth to grow optimally in containers. The other Borages are in 25cm pots (23.5cm true depth), and the ones next to this one are 26.5cm (true depth 26cm) [7L ‘rose pots]. So I’ll be doing the second stage of this experiment and removing this into a 7L pot (26cm). Borage despises being moved once it’s tap root has developed but in the interests of science and Bumblebees everywhere, imma do it and see what happens.
>>5120811I hope I can fuck up my soil enough to achieve this>>5120821That's an interesting experiment, if it doesn't reduce flowering quality much and just slows them down maybe you can pad the bottom of the pots to force successional flowering.
>>5117649Thanks for all the info, OP. This is some interesting stuff.
>>5120610In North America, north of about 40°, one of the few natives that manages to bloom before the maples is bloodroot. It blooms for me sometimes before the snow finishes melting. It’s also a shade lover, so if you have a nice tall and thick garden, it can be propagated as ground cover around your bushy flowers.
>>5120852The Minnesota native burrowing bees depend on it in early April.
Right. So in the interests of science and great Bumblebee glory fucking everywhere, this slow poke >>5120821 has now been transplanted from an 18cm soil depth to a 26cm soil depth in a 7L pot. I’ll do a series of images for those interested. Took a fair bit of pummelling to get it out. From the looks of it, it’s tap root is still sitting inside here somewhere (this is the big risk with moving borage once established as it’s tap root doesn’t like being fucked with; same with Vipers Bugloss). But from the looks of it, it gave up on its tap root and started sending out matting roots instead. This is why depth is so important for these plants in relation to containers. They’ll cope with any kind of soil and low water because that tap root will go deep enough to get its water and nutrients. Without it, the plant will still grow but be highly stunted and slow as we see here. The tap root pretty much mines everything it needs.But ok, this is a good result for transplanting. Feeder roots are no big deal. So I put it back into my poor soil mix (60% top soil, 20% grit, 20% gravel) but mixed in a handful of John Innes no 2 compost plus some pond buffer for magnesium and calcium into the root ball cavity. Refilled around the sides with poor soil mix. So we’ll see how that goes.
>>5120821>>5120869So filled to the brim and then I sprinkled some of this Envii pond buffer round the top. In the wild, both Borage and Vipers Bugloss leach calcium and magnesium from limestone, so dolomite limestone is optimal for dealing with light leaves that show deficiency. However, the major supplier of dolomite powder in small enough quantities is Elixir Garden Supplies who are a bunch of weapons grade cunts who will scam you out your money, never deliver on time, and then lie that they did ‘deliver’. So in the interests of science, you should avoid them, too.Nonetheless, science remains science so one of the best substitutes for dolomite limestone (and in fact is better) is the shit aquarium fags put in their tanks to clear their water. It’s very safe to use and is the exact same magnesium and calcium but derived from seaweed instead. So if you’re looking for something to deal with yellowing leaves, a bag of this stuff is always worth keeping around. I just sprinkle a little round the top and then water in.
>>5120869>>512087226cm exactly. To the fucking brim.
>>5120869>>5120872>>5120874Experiment Phase 2 is now completed. We shall now wait and see if there’s any acceleration and how quickly we get a flower spike. I will post updates.
>>5120843Not at all, friend. I really appreciate you reading it. All I want to do is get the message out that Bumblebees and Solitaries need all the help they can get so please just spread the word. I’ll keep this general going and start more if necessary throughout the summer so pop in any time. >>5120837Possibly but it’s just too stunted. I’m doing them in waves anyway. Next lot of plugs going in about two weeks from now. I want a never ending wave right through to the autumn for the new queens. End of summer beginning of autumn is one of the two most critical times (the other is spring when they first emerge) for Bumblebees because those queens need massive amounts of nectar to get them through winter hibernation.>>5120853>>5120852This is such a great series of posts, cheers. I’m always very interested in Solitaries wherever Anonymous lives. I looked this up and found out some very interesting information. This plant is very closely associated with the ‘Spring Beauty Bee’ (Andrena Erigeniae) and they appear to have co-evolved. It’s apparently packed with very high value pollen which they use for their brood balls (more on this process here >>5119911 - those are Mason bees but all Solitaries follow the same single egg on a ball of pollen and nectar model). So yeah, very fucking cool. Again, what always blows me away with these animals is just how adapted to plants they are. So much so, in many cases they’re highly specialised for one in particular that probably couldn’t exist without them. Also, just a beautiful bee, indeed. Very closely related to this bee (the Tawny Mining Bee) >>5120108 we have in the UK; same clade: Andrena. So all have the same ancestor about 100 million years ago. Thanks for posting about this. I have a dream to one day travel and see every species of Solitary I can so this is added to my bucket list.
>>5120889This is another good example by the way of what I posted here >>5119307. Solitaries can very often look like wasps (note with this bee, ‘the Spring Beauty Bee’ native to Minnesota) how waspish her body shape is, but again note those distinctive almond shaped eyes (larger than the more kidney-shaped of wasps) plus the longer antenna and crucially fuzzy body hair. I keep pointing this out because knowing the difference is very important. Solitaries are always very benign and passive; this group, Mining Bees, especially so but they’ll often get mistaken for wasps when they accidentally wander into a window or whatever so it’s good to know how to distinguish them.
Finally.
Fucking finally.
I could legit cry.
>>5121093>>5121094>>5121095Moved to the number one sun spot. My Plumipes now have a constant supply of nectar. Even that one little flower is like a constant tap for them to top off. I fucking did it. I could die right now I’m so happy. This all happened within five minutes for anyone science monitoring btw.
I have a lot of planned posts (mainly about fucking mellifera) but will just age quick with this image of Borage buds showing the little silica hairs all over this plant. Vipers Bugloss has same. They’re a pretty genius adaptation in this family with multiple purposes including deterring animals feeding on them (one of the reasons why the whole ‘Vipers Bugloss is toxic to livestock!’ lie is such bullshit; they get a mouthful of bristles if they try). Also breaking up rain in hard downpours, deflecting harsher sun, and also creating a thin microclimate around the plant to both cool it down in the high heat of its semi-desert evolutionary home and keep it a little warmer at night.
Quite an aesthetic family. I see Pentaglottis pretty regularly out and about
Potted some back-up Erysimum today. Aka the ‘Wallflower’. Reason it likes growing near walls is due to its evolution in the limestone rich coasts of the southern Mediterranean and the Levant, so it likes the leach off old limestone walls. This is THE number one plant I’ll recommend if you have a small balcony or just a window ledge and want to help Bumblebees and Solitaries. Very high concentration, high volume nectar and will flower nine months of the year (I’ve got of flowering in January before) if you cut it back regularly, A million times better than lavender. Only needs about three hours sun a day although more is better. Produces multiple of these elegant flower spikes with a lovely honey/spicy scent and both Bombus and Solitaries love it. Very compact, tidy leaf growth and great for more modern minimalist gardens. Again, just cut back regularly and it’s extremely reliable. No fuss needed at all. I highly recommend this cultivar especially: ‘Bowles Mauve’.Needs a 5L pot minimum. Any potting compost although peat free is best (70%). Likes good drainage though so mix in a third grit, or chuck in any old poor stony soil you have lying around. Bonus points if you add a few rocks or pebbles round the bottom to help drain. Don’t plant above where the stem grows, Also prefers alkaline mediums so crush egg shells around the top occasionally or some old limestone dust at the base of walls. 100/10 one of the Top Ten Bumblebee feeders you can find and a far superior choice to lavender in every way.
>>5121607This plant was brought to the UK by the Romans. Considered a ‘weed’ here which just goes to show how fucking moronic most people are. Solitaries especially love it and rely on it a lot.
>>5121941Another shot of it. Beautiful plant. I mean, I’m not a gardener as such but if I was this would be one of my favourites just for how great it looks.
>>5121941The flower structure give it away as a brassica which I don't really think of as lookers, that's a nice one.Reminds me of Chamaenerion which is one of my favourite plants, I don't know how good it is for bees though.
I once saw a bumblebee flailing in a pool. Tried to scoop it out but the fucker stung me. I found a rock and used it to get it out before I gently set it aside on the ground where I hope it could dry itself
>>5122013> ChamaenerionNever heard of this but now my interest is piqued. That pink colour (with more purple at the bud stage) is a 100% giveaway it’s been evolved for Bombus and Solitaries (bees see in ultraviolet so these colours show up like vivid neon blue to them). Apparently native to North America. Looked it up and it’s beloved by long-tongued Bumblebees and they’re its main pollinator, too. Mellifera apparently really struggles to access it (largely because it’s generally a shit pollinator anyway). Also a very high concentration nectar producer. So yeah, added to my list. Cheers, friend. >>5122069You’re a boss. Perfect action to take. They get thirsty in the summer and can fuck up like this. I once scooped out one from a Scottish pond with a dog ball chucker. Also they can only carry about 20 minutes of energy at a time so putting them in the sun to dry off near some flowers is optimal (you can even pick one off and hold it out to her, she’ll get in its nectar fine as she recovers - alternatively a mix of sugar or fruit juice and water; never honey). Good work.
>>5122092That's good to hear. They'll come into flower in a couple months and be fairly distinct in the roadsides on country lanes, along with some other pink Onagraceae.Incidentally if you do end up growing it some time, a nice tea can be produced by rolling and oxidising the leaves.
My lil fucked up patch by the shed. You need a bit more stones than I expected for the volume, but if it's not sufficient I'll amend further next year. If it goes well I'll expand it away from the shed too.Couple days and I'll get some of these lads in >>5120807Comfreys going in a nicer patch at the other end of the plot.
why are you against wasps?! they aren't as aggressive as you might think and they are just as important for the your local flora & fauna as bees are, and they also polinate plants
>>5122137A wasp wrote this
>>5122129Fuck, what a glorious sight. I am so going to be doing a /bomb/ general next year just so I can see this whole masterpiece emerge. >>5122137no vespa gtfo —->
Just got stungI think the bee was on my dog and got agitated when I pet him
i like bee butts :)
>>5122222100% a fucking ‘honeybee’; don’t blame our Bombus bros.>>5122224Well, you’ve come to the right place.
>>5122221Thanks for your time making the thread and writing so much detailed information. When I see some nice bees I'll be sure to post them
I live near the largest park in London and also have a garden. What can I do for bees?
>>5122257I'm sure OP can write up a better answer for you, but a simple thing you can do is plant Borage and Viper's Bugloss. There's some detail in the thread about it.
Made a hot water and fleece day spa for my Plumipes today just because I can. >>5122253No, my man, the thanks is all mine. I’m stoked you’re doing so much to help them. One of the great things about these generals is there’ll always be at least one truly awesome Anonymous who’ll actively get involved. I’m well looking forward to seeing how your big hitter plants pan out, I’ll be here all summer anyway (expect that first year Bugloss to get very lush, by the way) but 100% I’m doing a general same time next year just to check out what you got. It’s always a pleasure seeing expert gardeners wrangle these big beast bumblebee plants. >>5122257As Anonymous says, Vipers Bugloss, Borage, and Comfrey (all the Sam family) are the top three on earth for Bumblebees and Solitaries (don’t bother helping honeybees, they’re a massive threat to the real bees). What’s your garden like in terms of space, sun, and how much work do you want to put in?
>>5117649Hi anon, I read through the general; thanks it is all quite interesting stuff. But it also reminded me of a pollinator (at least I think?) which I spotted in cornwallWhen wandering these sort of beach dunes, there were lots of these flying around and I couldn't tell what they were as I had never seen them before. They landed on flowers and such and didn't seem threatened when approached, although they usually moved quite quickly. I managed to get quite close to this one however the camera quality was lacking at best. I have another shot which is closer but horrible in terms of detail.When flying around, it appeared pinkish and only when I got a close look did I realise it was actually redder in colour (I think the image makes it look more orange than it was but it's months ago at this point.)Thank you,
>>5122516It seems it didn't attach, sorry. Tried again and it said that happened because of incognito. Unused to the mobile interface my apologies.
>>5122516>>5122517Cinnabar Moth. They’re very closely connected to Ragwort so you’ll often see them foraging it along with a lot of Solitary and Bumblebee species. I think it’s something like 30 species of Solitary that rely on Ragwort but because it’s considered toxic to fucking horses and cattle, it obviously gets ripped out and fucked around with and so our wild bees suffer even more. Nice little guys anyway.
Finally starting to kick in. Borage is a bit like popcorn - you get one or two flowers over a couple of days, then a few more - then suddenly it’s out of fucking control. This plant here was a total of six weeks from seed to this. Would’ve been faster if I’d germinated a little later but I wanted them earlier for my Plumipes. So very, very fast plant. This time of year, you’ll get seed to flower in four weeks. Also very adaptable. If you have a bit of a sunny patch, just throw the seeds around. Or if you know of anywhere near you like a park or whatever. One of the easiest to guérilla garden. Get a packet of seeds online for a couple of quid and just chuck ‘em around. Go back four weeks later to watch Bumblebees all over it and smugly look upon your works like the god you are.
>>5119369What would happen if the native pollinators go extinct?
>>5122814You would lose about 90% of all flowering plants on earth including trees. Food crops we would lose about a quarter. Some foods like tomatoes, potatoes, and most fruit would become extinct as mellifera (honeybees) cannot do buzz pollination, nor do they even pollinate enough or do it as efficiently. In fact, a single Osmia (specifically the Orchard Mining Bee) in the same tribe as this one >>5119887 nesting in Anonymous’ outside table, can do the work of over 250 mellifera in a single day. One female will visit multiple flowers (over 3,000) on multiple trees for an average 25 trips a day to furnish her brooding cell. Mellifera can only do between 50 to 1,000 and will stay focused on one tree that it’ll repeatedly strip while not actually having provided any cross pollination at all. Furthermore, most fruit trees are pollinated very early spring which is peak Solitary season. Mellifera will only come out on days where ambient temp is about 15C and sunny. Solitaries and Bumblebee Queens (prime bombus spring pollinators) can forage in temps as low as 3C and overcast.Solitaries and Bumblebees are also very messy pollinators and will move from tree to tree and plant to plant at a much higher rate of frequency and intensity. Mellifera tend to prioritise one plant and are also constantly grooming pollen tightly into their baskets which means it’s not as freely available when it does move. This is just some of it. There are multiple sources to back all this including this one by the U.K. government confirming that up to 95% of all U.K. crops are pollinated by Solitaries and Bumblebees, with mellifera accounting for somewhere between 5%-15%.https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/pollinators-financeHoneybees and the whole myth built up around them are a fucking scam.
>pollinates>nukes gay honey bees>makes OP run and screech like a little girlAre other hymenoptera even trying?
>>5122857
>>5122863hehe good job humie
>>5122960Oh yeah, that’s something I see all the time. Fucking Vespa hoovering up bloodsucking summer cunts. Oh no, wait. I never see that at all.
>>5122965>I didn't see it so it didn't happen
>>5122646Looking good, I'm looking forward to seeing some myself. They just popped up the seedlings out the soil the other day. I'll drop a few in the local park tooGot the little comfrey patch in, give them a few weeks they'll be lookin nice I'm sure
Before coming across this thread I had noticed some mason bees (I believe that's what they are anyway, or some kind of solitary bee) had started using the bamboo fence on my balcony for their brood chambers. I didn't install the fence with this in mind at all, but it's the second year running now I notice these solitary bees wriggling into my fence. I have also definitely noticed a few bamboo poles blocked up with dried mud or whatever it is they use.Anyway, I decided to plant some wildflower seeds 3 or 4 weeks ago, in the hopes it'll benefit them - or at least, benefit them the following year. Pic related (I will post progress).My main question is: what can I do to help these bees? I've read this kind of bamboo fence is actually not ideal at all for them, but at the same time, I need the fence for privacy and safety reasons, and they seem to use it a lot.
This is what it looks like as of tonight.
Finally, this is the type of fence. It is vertical as opposed to horizontal, unlike many of these "bee hotels" I see being sold. My balcony is on the 6th floor, so high up enough, and I live in an Alpine country (but only at about 300m above sea level), in case that's in any way relevant.I suppose I'm looking for reassurance I'm doing more good than harm.
>>5123049>>5123052>>5123054My MAN. What a fucking boss you are. First off, yeah, bamboo is not great but you don’t need to worry and I’ll explain why. A little bit of background: there are three forms of bee - social (so Bumblebees and fucking mellifera) that nest in colonies or hives, Solitary (completely alone, mother does everything, no workers), and aggregate (bees that look like they’re social but are actually modified Solitaries that tend to congregate like Carpenter Bees or Collette’s Bees). They’re still Solitaries but they just cluster.Mason Bees are true Solitaries. Unlike aggregate bees, they don’t congregate at all and will merely take advantage of easy nesting sites (like your bamboo). Why this distinction is important is because aggregate bees have developed adaptations like cell lining to prevent mould, clearing out mites, etc. They also (this is important) tend to use the same nesting holes as their mothers. Mason Bees, however, don’t have these adaptations and don’t use the same nesting holes.So things like ‘bee hotels’ are actually very bad because over time they develop mould and pest issues like mites and other parasites. Solitaries that nest in them like Mason Bees eventually pick up these mites and other problems even if they don’t use the same nesting hole. Your bamboo fence is slightly different, however. It’s not all bound together in a concentrated space and while bamboo itself is prone to things like damp and so on due to its hollow nature, it’s unlikely to create the same problematic conditions. HOWEVER, if you would like to do something that will ensure their health and them continuing to seek shelter with you, you can buy these things (related). They’re specialised cardboard tubes used by orchard keepers (this family of bees - Osmia - is the number one fruit tree pollinator). They’re waterproof, very strong, and specifically designed for these Solitaries. Cont./
>>5123049>>5123052>>5123054>>5123311The other great thing about them is they’re a one use and then dispose kind of deal. So you can say set them up this year and if it’s within the next month or so, they’re likely to be used by your Solitaries. They’ll plug them up so you’ll know which has been used. The baby Solitaries then grow and develop in them over winter, emerge next spring, and then leave or use another empty tube. You’ll be able to see which by the busted open mud plug and then you can just remove that one and throw it away and replace it. You can buy them loose or sometimes in bundles but they’re just the right length for a female to lay five or six eggs in brood cells and then plug them up. Because they won’t use the same tube again, there’s no risk of you inadvertently destroying any cells inside. I wouldn’t throw them away until next June however as an open plug just means they’re starting to emerge. The males are first and then his sisters break out one by one behind him. So just wait until they’re all out which will be by the summer (so round about mid to late June to be on the safe side). I’d also put them under some kind of shelter like away from the rain etc. Oh and they’re very cheap - just search Mason Bee tubes on Amazon or whatever and you’ll find them. They also produce reed ones (stronger than bamboo) but I think those are a little more pricey (but not by much). The cardboard ones are used by professional orchard keepers anyway.BUT, like I say, you don’t need to do any of this. It’s just an idea. These bees don’t drill or mine so your bamboo is safe. It’s just that long term it can cause them issues plus, as I say, they only use them once so when they have used all your fence, you’ll likely not see any again.I’ll do your plants reply separately, but lemme know is this all makes sense or you have any questions or need more clarification.
>>5123054>>5123052>>5123049On to your plants. This is so fucking based words almost fail me. Thank you for doing this. In terms of your mix, your Solitaries are Spring bees and chances are extremely high you live somewhere with a lot of established Maples, maybe Hawthorn, and definitely anything in the Rosaceae family like plum, cherry, apple, and so on. So if they’re on your balcony they are very close to a major pollen and nectar source. Given most of your seed mix is likely to be summer flowering, they most probably won’t use them but this also depends as if it blooms before their season ends (usually by beginning to mid June) then they certainly will. BUT, that mix WILL be very, very attractive to Bumblebees so you’re not only helping your Solitaries but Bumblebees too. This is what I mean by everyone can do something - you planting on a balcony on the sixth floor is just the most GOAT fucking example of this. Like I say, I cannot thank you enough. Lemme know if that all makes sense too, and yes, please do post pics when they’re up so I can spot what you have. If you have more space and say want to put in a little potted cherry tree or a California Lilac (both packed with pollen and nectar for spring Solitaries and Queen Bumblebees) lemme know. There are loads of options but mainly having them nest so prolifically with you means they definitely have a very good food source nearby. Related - dwarf variety of California Lilac. These are prolific early flowerers, produce abundant amounts of pollen (more important than nectar for both Solitaries and Bumblebees that time of year), smell beautiful, and produce deep green foliage for the rest of the year once flowering is over that can be cut back as needed. Needs full sun and good drainage, and about 40 to 50cm pot depth (plastic is better). So that’s one idea of something specific if you have the space and inclination.
Tell me about this pollinator and how I can get more of them to hang around
>>5123320>>5123317>>5123311Thank you for these helpful tips, you are goated.I'll check out those mason bee tubes, they seem cool, but I'll need to see if there's anywhere for me to place them. I'm buying some shelving for my balcony so that may be a good fit, I'll have to check it out. Could be a good spot to place some pollinator friendly flowering plants too in future, because currently space is limited (I live in a decent size city).I assumed my bees were mason bees but desu they very well could be aggregate bees, I'll need to take a pic and post it here. In any case, I'm glad the bamboo fencing isn't necessarily causing harm. If overall I can do more good than harm I'll be happy. It's sweet to have a coffee on the balcony and seeing their (adorable) hairy butts wriggling into that fence, bringing food for its brood.I'll try and post a pic of one of them another time.
>>5123384This is one of the mighty tribe Halictidae, aka ‘the Sweat Bee’. They are one of the oldest bee families tracing back about 120 million years with a core proto-wasp ancestor about 400 million years. They are also very widely distributed across the world but the metallic variation you see there is almost always found in very warm, tropical, sub-tropical, and arid areas close to forestation. So I’m going to guess you’re somewhere in a southern US state like Florida, Texas, or similar. The sCiEnTiStS dOnT kNoW why they’re that colour but I think it has to do with thermoregulation allowing them to move from very warm areas to cooler without losing or gaining too much heat. This is likely supported by some parasitic wasps having this same metallic quality and found in very arid, mountainous regions (so big temp variations) of the Middle East, particularly Iran where they have the most diversity and density. Another example of core coding in both bees and wasps originating in a proto ancestor that turns off and on dependant on evolutionary pressure.The only other Solitary that displays this metallic colouring is Euglossini - the Orchid Bee; found mainly around the jungle areas of Central America but (happily) now increasing into the US, mainly around Florida. Most Bombus and Solitaries need salt supplementation but Halictidae have realised humans are a great source for it. They are extremely benign and gentle so apart from planting more open faced flowers for them, you can help them by sitting out on a warm day and letting them land on you for a hearty sip of your manly sweat. Great photo. I saved it, cheers. Related: one of the beautiful Euglossini found in Costa Rica. Another Solitary on my dream bucket list of seeing one day.
>>5123407Oh, I feel you on that. There’s nothing I enjoy more than my morning coffee watching my Plumipes come in for their first drink. The nectar accumulates overnight so that first go at it is one of their prime activities. Watching them carefully move through the having a good long drink is a special kind of based feeling. And yeah, you may very well be right, friend. If you can get us a pic, that would be awesome. I’ll be keeping this general going all through summer so please pop in from time to time with updates on your planting as well; I’m very keen to see what it brings in. Also, yes, definitely: some of those tubes stacked into a shelf like pic in >>5123317 would be ideal. It’s up to you, though. You’re already doing more than enough and you deserve everything good and awesome.>>5123038Wait, which is this? The Comfrey? Already? Fucking hell, Boss. Excellent work. Very happy to hear you’re dropping in your local park. I do this all the time - a little bit of Borage here, some foxglove seeds in a shaded hidden patch there. Chuck ‘em in abandoned front gardens, too. Loads of people don’t even notice when they come up. I used to seed the whole fucking road where I used to live and not a single bastard noticed. Related is my current chaotic situation. Brought in six more Pulmonaria and six more on the way. My girls are eating good this year. >>5123384>>5123573One thing I forgot to mention here - Halictidae are 100% soil nesting (again an indication of Solitaries following the OG proto-wasp model and indicating just how ancient this group is). So if you have any open, sandy soil patches, leave those undisturbed, my man. As mentioned here >>5123311 they’re another Solitary that aggregates so you’ll see them in clusters but they work independently. They don’t swarm or cause any issues and are known for being very chill so 100% safe for kids or animals.
>>5123727You're really doing well with those pots, looks great.>foxgloveGot a few seeds of this in too. Phacelia also seems like it might also be a good choice, I am getting some in for green manure anyway.By the way do you have suggestions for a border in near full shade? I've got an empty one to fill out and something to cover the fence a bit, maybe a dwarfed ivy cultivar. I've seen Pulmonaria seeding itself in similar spots
>>5123932Phacelia IS the fucking bomb for them. Grows fast, produces tons of pollen and nectar. Only drawback is it brings in mellifera like fucking cockroaches. If you have the sun, I would 100% recommend it. After the borages, phacelia is the fourth best imo. On your shaded areas, Pulmonaria all the way. It’s not only the preferred food of Plumipes but also many in the Andrena and Osmia families. All early spring solitaries. Plus also Bombus Pratorum (the Early Bumblebee). It also flowers a shitload. Once established they’ll flower pretty much from February to June. Beautiful plant. The absolute top tier of them is a cultivar called ‘Trevi Fountain’. All mine are Trevis. The others will fade round about late April but mine are still chucking up flower bracts even now. Only drawback is they’re better from division, not seed. Seed takes too long and can be unreliable. Next one I’d suggest is Brunnera (looks very similar to Green Alkanet but much softer foliage). They all love that, too. Nettles is another one (Lamium I think). They can be fussy though. Any kind of ground or creeping ivy is excellent. Ivy comes in for so much undeserved shit but it is one of the major food sources for early Bumblebee Queens. I’ll do a post soon on the lifecyle because it’s pretty important to remember the Queens are almost always stuck beginning or end of season with almost fuck all. So I would say any time you have somewhere that’s tricky light wise and you want to forget it with low hassle, then Ivy all the way. And yeah, then chuck around some foxglove. In my experience the white are the most reliable, get the most interest and will tolerate even deep shade. I knew of one once that flowered in a fucking shed! Blew my mind. Came straight up the shed floor in front of a dirty old window (wtf). One of the true final bosses. And Bombus go fucking mad for them, too. Related - terrible photo of a Pratorum busily nectar robbing earlier.
>>5123940 I've just found out that ivy often doesn't go to flower if you don't let it get to full size, and dwarf cultivars will not reach maturity regardless so often no flowers. Which is a shame, but there's 'Arborescens' which grows as a shrub in the mature form, I'll get one of these.Brunnera, foxglove, Pulmonaria and maybe some yellow archangel all goin in, thanks. I'll stick a fern in the corner and some of those bee tube things can shade under it why not.
>>5123948Oh, the Mason Bee tubes need sun, Boss. They need early morning sun and then shade in the afternoon. Should also be off the ground too and sheltered from rain. Sorry, I should’ve been clearer on that. As for all these ideas, fucking legendary. Tree or shrub ivy flowers autumn early winter so hugely important for new queens before hibernation. If it’s a good source, they’ll even nest near it so they can come out on milder winter days to have a feed. Packed with pollen and nectar so very, very important. Another idea too are any of the shade Mahonias and related - ‘Stinking Hellebore’. Somewhat toxic so just needs handling with gloves (very well known in folk medicine although more likely to kill than treat lmao). Another one that is prolific for flowers and nectar and very early spring so again very important for emerging queens who are often desperate that time of year waiting for the trees to come in. Will go in hella deep shade too.But yeah, that is all quite something. Oh and yes, the Archangel! Fucking based! Plumipes love these as well. Damn, I can’t wait until I start one of these generals next spring. I am definitely going to mention you in it so you see it. Hereby dubbed ‘Vipers Bugloss Bro’. Mid March next year. Keep a lookout,
Just had a cunt mellifera scout come in and plot my borage. They can’t say they were never warned. I will get every fucking one of them.
>>5123968>Mason Bee tubes need sunWhoops. In that case I can build a box onto the side of the shed, the angle's right for afternoon shade.>Stinking HelleboreI'll research it, need to keep it pet safe. I'm surprised by their green flowers, I was wondering the other day why norway maple produces small green flowers. You'd think it's not very good for the flower's purpose.I'm lookin forward to everything being established next year and onwards, I'll be around in the threads then too.
>>5123989Oh, well if you can build something then even better! But yeah, they’re thermogenic or some shit. So they need warming up in the morning to fly but their brood cells can’t be in too much heat. I think south east facing maybe if you can manage it and you can be arsed, or whatever you think is best. If your shed is untreated wood or brick, they’re probably in it already, anyway! And yeah, then nix the Hellebore. It is very toxic on all parts including the sap so it’s fine for us to handle but I wouldn’t risk kids or animals around it. It was just an idea. That tree ivy is more than good enough. You’re doing more than enough for them. So fucking giga based, thank you. I’ll shout you a whole nights’ worth of pints one day for real.
>>5119888>Mellifera originated somewhere in the Levant.See, here is your angle to expand the good fight to the other boards, till all the hives in the northern hemisphere are burning! >Do you know that the native ARYAN bumblebees are on the brink of extermination by the LEVANTINE Mellifera invaders? Why should you care? Because the offical MEDIA have been LYING for CENTURIES about who the REAL pollinators are! >NONE of the original European or American flora needs the MOLOCHFERA for its reproduction, but it will all be GONE when the real pollinators are DEAD! And we'll all DIE with it!>All the native Apis pollinators live either INDIVIDUALLY or in SMALL COLLECTIVES, whereas the Mellifera is the only widespread COMMUNISTIC BEE, what a SURPRISE! >Tell me, why do all these SOPHISTICATED pesticides from Monsanto, Bayer et al. DESTROY the NATIVE pollinators leaving these MIDDLE-BEEAST creatures unharmed? That has to be COINCIDENCE, right?>Funnily enough, this BOLSHEBEE do serve ONE LIMITED PURPOSE with regard to pollination - to increase the YIELD and therefore PROFIT for the BIG AGRICULTURE! So whom can you thank for the agricultural products which GROW UNNATURALLY fast and have almost ZERO nutrition? >Coincidentally it is THE EXAMPLE in all the PROPAGANDA on how to bee a PRODUCTIVE member of SOCIETY. So choose between a STERILE female or a male portrayed as USELLES DRONE whose DICK will be torn off if he ever tries to get LAID. Oh wait, you want to bee a QUEEN? I rest my CASE!>What about the HONEYSLOP, that stuff is good for you, right? The HIVEMIND has been WAXING poetically on how HEALTHY it is for so long. Then why MUST this valued product of the SEMIT-INSECT bee PASTEURIZED for infant consumption? Because it is full of PARASITES and VIRUSES, that's why! And the content itself? Literally VOMIT made from flower CUM and aphid SHIT!
>>5117833I have a shady spot and would love to know a bee friendly plant I can grow there. Can you recommend anything non-toxic?
>>5124000I know you’re piss-taking but this all got quite a big chuckle out of me. You’re right, though: if we appeal to our Aryan Brothers on how OUR INDIGENOUS WHITE CHILDREN BEES ARE BEING DECIMATED BY THE FUCKING DURKA DURKA SHITSLAM ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FUCKING MELLIF-ARAB HONEY CUNTS we’re on to a big time propaganda winner. And don’t think I haven’t already thought about this, either.
>>5124009Well, you have a few options, friend. What kind of shade? Full shade or does it get dappled light from overhanging trees? Are you looking for something more small or a shrub? What time of year are you most interested in seeing it flower?
>>5118483Got my lavender. I actually forgot your advice about the grit and just used potting soil and compost. Hope it'll be okay. Kind of want to find some other flowering perennials I can put in a small pot that pollinators would like.
>>5124077Oh, very nice. Hidcote as well! Top, top Bumblebee lavender (English; so vastly superior to the French. Of course). Don’t worry about the grit - so long as it’s got drainage holes and the water drains freely it’ll be fine. If you find like little stones on the road or whatever, you can just put those round the top. They’ll keep the roots cool and also slowly sink down over time. Remember not to overwater but don’t let it dry out either. A good test is just watch the leaves - if they look kind of saggy or a bit sad, just give it a little drink. These plants come from the arid, hotter parts of the southern Mediterranean so they love the sun and despise wet feet. How much space do you have, my man? It’s a window-sill, right? Maybe a little window box like related? You can plant something really special and low maintenance with something like that. Note that shitty French lavender, by the way. Horrible stuff. But yeah, this is awesome. You are based af for helping out our Bombus and Solitaries. Post pics once it’s in bloom, please. I’ll be really keen to see how it gets on. Oh, and remember to cut back faded flower stalks as that’ll give you a very long flowering season.
>>5124115Haha, my coworker went to the garden store and asked if I wanted anything. I said lavender, and he said there were several varieties. I was searching up the varieties and felt pressured to not keep him waiting. I'm glad you approve of Hidcote.It's actually a balcony. I just found a page of container-friendly pollinator plants. https://homegrownnationalpark.org/keystone-plants/?_plant-type=container-friendlyI actually have yarrow seeds that came free when I bought other seeds (I garden in my parents' yard too). I could plant those if I find them.
>>5124166Ok, this is awesome. I’m going through them and the first thing to say is these are all native, sub-Arctic meadowland. This is extremely important because indigenous Bumblebees and Solitaries are evolved to forage on these specifically. Second is they do need pretty much full sun. So full sun is usually defined as five hours of straight sun a day - ideally from 10am to 3pm. But it’s not a hard and fast rule. My borages are in sun from 11am to 2pm then 4pm to 7pm (all supposedly ‘weaker’ sun) but they do just fine. Just aim for five or six total across the day. Don’t worry if this isn’t possible though - we have plenty of plants just as good for more shady conditions. The second thing is many are container capable but for the most beneficial, you’re going to need something about 30cm wide to about 25cm deep. So this is why I think it’s worth looking into a trough sized (so as in here >>5124115) container. Most of these need to spread out a little. But, saying that, doing them in pots also gives you way more control. Meadowland soil is somewhere between very rich (forest) and very dry (coastal). Traditional northern hemisphere meadowland sort of looks like pic related. So you’ve got your trees (so plants get lots of leaf fall so soil is rich and like shade) then your open fields (lots of sun, medium soil) then it all sort of goes down to a coastline (more arid, less water, very hot and open). So all these northern hemisphere biosphere native bee plant habitats will fit in somewhere in this general topography. I know this seems like unnecessary information but it’s important because we want to mimic as much as possible the optimum growing conditions for these plants. Many people will pot them in rich composts and while they’ll still grow, you won’t get the speed and nectar and pollen intensity as in their own preferred soil. And don’t worry - I’m just outlining all this; I promise it’ll all be very easy for you.Cont./
>>5124166>>5124293Ok, so now we covered all that, in summary - five to six hours of sun a day, containers of 30cm diameter/25cm depth, soil mix of garden compost (peat free) in a ratio of about 70% compost and 30% grit or perlite. Your TOP plants for nectar and pollen for native North American Bumblebees and Solitaries are (in order): 1. Phacelia - known as ‘bee bread’ it is so beloved by native bees. Grows extremely fast from seed (6 to 8 weeks). Produces huge amounts of both nectar and pollen. Flowers from early to late summer. SPRING/SUMMER/AUTUMNhttps://homegrownnationalpark.org/news/plant/lacy-phacelia-or-fiddleneck/2. Gaillardia - posted here >>5123384. Very prolific flowering from June to August and longer if deadheaded. Does exceptionally well in pots. Huge amount of pollen especially. SUMMER/AUTUMNhttps://homegrownnationalpark.org/news/plant/blanketflower-or-firewheel/3. Rudbeckia - Very, very important for emerging Queens. AUTUMNhttps://homegrownnationalpark.org/news/plant/black-eyed-susan/4. Yarrow - prolific nectar and pollen. Very reliable in pots. Packed with pollen and nectar. SUMMER/AUTUMNhttps://homegrownnationalpark.org/news/plant/white-yarrow/5. Myosotis - Forget-Me-Nots. Borage family. Prolific flowering. Very important for spring queens and Solitaries. SPRING.https://homegrownnationalpark.org/news/plant/alpine-forget-me-not/6. Asters - any. Again essential for emerging queens. Very reliable and huge nectar suppliers. AUTUMNhttps://homegrownnationalpark.org/news/plant/smoother-aster/So on that link, these are the top. All can grow easily in containers. All very reliable and massively helpful to both Bumblebees and Solitaries. If you want just one then I 100% recommend Phacelia (related) and also as discussed here >>5123940. And, as always, Borage is king. Needs 26cm to 30cm depth however and leaner soil.
>>5120821>>5120869>>5120872>>5120874>>5120875So for anyone tracking this experiment (I know loads of you are, don’t lie), this is actually incredible. To recap: Borage 9cm plug deliberately planted 31 March in no more than 18cm soil depth. Significantly slower to grow and flower than the others planted same time. Showed a flower head but no real expansion.Repotted on 1 May into a 7L rose pot at 26cm soil depth. Literally 12 days ago and it’s just about to open its first bloom. So twelve days (holy fuck). Two things are now established as SCIENCE: 1. Borage wants a perfect minimum of 26cm deep pot for final growth stage. That is now conclusive. And 2. Borage CAN be transferred even when a flower head is showing so long as the tap root isn’t exposed. Furthermore, this plant’s soil was amended with 1 teaspoon Envii pond buffer for added calcium a magnesium. No other amendments. Watered daily.One VERY interesting thing about this specimen, too, is it’s thrown up two very strong central stems. All the other faster growing ones have produced the standard one stem with thinner secondary stems. Overall it seems more robust and stronger. So the next phase of this experiment will be seeing if it flowers longer and more reliably, or if the initial stunting will have affected its overall production through the season. I shall, of course, provide updates. If this worked, however, then we now can prove Borage can be grown in shallow pots then transferred to larger for more controlled flowering. Which will be a very big deal.
>>5124314Boom. Just opened as I was sending fifty volts up a mellifera’s arse. It’s definitely a sign. Glorious.
>>5124011Shady to the point where grass does not grow there. It is bare earth.I am open to the idea of a shrub or hardy bush of some type. Something low maintenance. Regards to when it flowers, I am not too concerned, although something that flowers in late autumn could be nice, as my wildflowers are finished by then.
>>5124376I have just the plant for you. The great Mahonia. Two cultivars especially: ‘Charity’ and ‘Winter Sun’ (related). Both are deep shade plants, drought tolerant once established, and will flower from autumn through winter. This is the number one Bumblebee plant for winter. Number one. In fact, it’s so important for them that it’s not only visited by up to 70% of all wintering Queens, it’s credited with being the reason why Bombus Terrestris is now being seen increasingly producing colonies over winter in London. If Viper’s Bugloss is the number one summer Bumblebee and Solitary plant, then Mahonia is the number one for winter. You could not make a more outstanding choice for wild bees. I’d get a well-established plant, 5L and up. Plant this year and just dump a lot of mulched material into the root cavity and keep an eye on watering just until it sets so you get the winter flowering. Which is spectacular. Other than that, no care needed. Completely self-sufficient.
A bit smaller than anon suggests, but for UK anons there's a good price for Mahonias at www.norfolkqualityplants.co.ukAbout 15 quid for 3 litres, they have both the mentioned cultivars too.
>>5123727>So if you have any open, sandy soil patches, leave those undisturbed, my man.Ah this is good to know. I'll clear a little sandy space by that area. I need to pull some weeds anyway.>The only other Solitary that displays this metallic colouring is Euglossini - the Orchid BeeI am pretty sure I have seen an orchid bee around here a few times. I couldn't find a picture. Anything I can do to attract more or keep them around?
>>5124456Ok, but just be careful, friend. They could be nesting in the soil around there. The rule is they prefer sandy open areas but if it’s relatively sunny with warm soil and not disturbed, they can still set up. Just check around the area for little holes like related. Also they have large underground systems so pulling up weeds by the roots could actually collapse those channels. I’d just spend about ten minutes watching the area for any activity, and check for holes or little soil ‘volcanoes’. Sometimes there’ll be a few, or you may see just one or two which are ‘entrances’ into a larger underground system.They tend to prefer south east facing for morning warmups but that’s not a strict rule. The main thing is they want something undisturbed. They are aggregate bees as mentioned here >>5123311 so they will reuse nesting sites and create extensive underground networks, so don’t pull anything up just yet until you’ve checked. I have to run, but I’ll get back to you on the Euglossini, you lucky, lucky bastard.
>>5124456>>5124601Fuck. I forgot to add to this - removing a weed patch is a great idea because they’ll always prefer more warmth and sun but rather than pull out the weeds, just cut them off at the base. Or just leave them if you can’t be arsed. The primary factor in ground nesting is undisturbance (not even sure that’s a word). But you get what I mean.All of the ground nesting species - Bumblebees and Solitaries - will always look first for an undisturbed area. So I always recommend if you want to attract any of them, first thing thing to do is set aside an area and just treat it like a forgotten space. Piles of old leaves, wood, bits of pots or old shit, whatever, and then any old overgrown, ‘weedy’ area. Somewhere away from any main areas of activity. Pic related is of their types of nesting holes again. There can be dozens of bees under there by the way. They set up these subterranean systems where they’ll use a common opening and then it branches out into a series of brooding tunnels underneath. Huge soil improvement factor but of course the lawn cunts will loose their tiny minds the second they see them.
>>5124395>>5124449Thanks for your advice.
