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. Wasps are fine (but still shit).Previous: >>5117649Related: Vipers Bugloss plugs being prepared by based Anonymous from the other thread.
I saw a bunch of bumblebees and carpenter bees in my Vitex bushes today. I've also got some small white flowers that look like miniature daises growing wild in my yard; these are very popular with some tiny native bee that's slightly larger than a grain of rice.I'm also seeing two types of green bees, one of them is entirely metallic green, the other is green on the head and thorax and has a black and yellow abdomen.
I don't know a whole lot about bees or botany but I just want to thank OP for being a good contributor to the board amongst a sea of shit. We need more of this good type of autism and less of the seething-over-cats-and-dinosaur-feathers kind.
>>5129267I'm curious what your mini daisy is. Stellaria?
>>5129267Ok, you lucky fucker. I’m gonna guess you’re also in a southern US state. That little bee is almost certainly Perdita (aka the ‘Fairy Bee’) one or the smallest bees on earth. You lucky, lucky bastard. The two green variations are Halectidae again - the ‘Sweat Bees’. The all green are the females and the green with striped abdomen is the male (species: Agapostemon Virescens). Fuck, I’m so jealous, >>5129275Awww, bro ;)
Some of the 20 Borage plugs preliminary to being potted this past Saturday. I now have six in flower, six coming into flower, another 12 setting buds, then these 20. Waves of Borage right through to the emerging queens late summer.
>Note that Mellifera (‘honey bees’) are banned from this thread.How am I supposed to get honey, then? Are there native alternative species that would hurt less?Still planting a shitton of flowers and letting "weeds" flowers for pollinators of all kinds to enjoy.
>>5129351No. You don’t need honey, it’s all just hype. Still, I appreciate all you’re doing, based fag. >>5129267Pic related of your guys. I can’t stop seething with envy of you.
Since last thread I have been growing some common comfrey in a 15l pot and it's gone fron a small seedling to a pretty big leafy plant. Had to move it to a shady area of the garden to protect from sunburn but it seems healthy now. Will 15l be too shallow for it? I only want it to grow mature enough to harvest it's root to plant even more from cuttings so I can eventually have a nice annual crop that attracts solitary bees but I can then cut back for mulch by late autumn.
I'm doing my part.
>>5129281I'm not sure what it is. Here's a pic. Alas there were no bees in it. There weren't any in the Vitex either, just a ton of colorful little flies that would not sit still long enough to photograph.>>5129291>you’re also in a southern US state.Correct.I'm also seeing a ton of a strange kind of wasp. They're about the same size as most wasps. Their appearance is completely black except for a single horizontal red stripe across their abdomen. It looks like they are wearing a tiny belt. I've never seen one sit still, they constantly fly in little "search patterns", hovering just a few inches over the ground, never more than about a foot or so high. I assume they are parasitic and this behavior is them searching for their hosts to lay eggs on. They aren't aggressive in the slightest and they behave very different from the usual paper wasps, mud daubers, yellowjackets, etc.
>>5129479It'd be a bit silly to of me to try and diagnose an Aster like this one from another continent unfortunately, they're tough.Pretty thing nonetheless, thanks for the pic
>>5129479>>5129497I just went back out and now there were different insects to see.Still no bumble or carpenter bees in the Vitex, but the green ones are back. They look exactly like >>5129377
>>5129505The micro-bees were out again. I spotted this one along with some other insect on one of the mini daisies.
>>5129506Also, my 7-year-old Dutchman's Pipe Vine has never flowered before, but this looks like it's just about to open so it will be interesting to see what it attracts.
>>5129505More action in the Vitex now. Normally the carpenter bees around here are huge but this one was smaller than most. There was also some kind of tiny bee on that flower but alas it took off just a split second before I got the pic. It looked more orange than the one in >>5129506 but that might have simply been pollen, I only got a really quick glimpse of it.
>>5129533the bumblebees are back too
>>5129479>Their appearance is completely black except for a single horizontal red stripe across their abdomenhttps://www.inaturalist.org/observations?month=5&place_id=1&taxon_id=54028&view=speciesSpider wasps for your perusalSome have been recorded in the UK though I've not seen one myself. >>5129505The green ones are so cool lookin.
>>5129535I'd have to catch one of the wasps to get a good enough look at it to distinguish it from lookalikes. It could be one of the Lophopompilus species.
>>5129393Holy based Phacelia. I’m seeding some this week. >>5129382Yeah, if you want roots then definitely pot it. 15L should give you about 30cm depth which is probably bare minimum for that tap root. It’ll likely coil but you’ll get thick lateral roots coming off it that should be ideal for propagation. Oh, also this thing is a nitrogen hog so feed it a lot to get those fat leaves which will help with making good roots. Also, welcome back to the thread, buddy. >>5129479Reminds me a little of Phlox. Some kind of subtropical, marshland kind of plant that probably likes a lot of humidity. The little Perditas are likely on it for the pollen which it looks excellent for. Nice looking plant. >>5129505Fuck, yeah, man. What a beast! Big, big guy. I saved that pic, cheers. >>5129506Yeah, definitely pollen. Loading up. Beautiful fucking bee. They’re not in any way related but that shimmery, gunmetal kind of colouring reminds me of related: the Hare Bell Carpenter Bee. Also one of the smallest and native to the UK. I have a couple coming in now. Beautiful to watch. I saved this pic too, thanks so much.>>5129510Looks like it smells.
Do bumble bees have a time of day they prefer to eat? There's a bunch of flowers in my yard that I see them buzzing about in and I was wondering of they had any known preferred foraging times so I can grab some pics/videos when they're at their highest density.
>>5129264Oh my God! JC! A bombus!
>>5129692Usually full sun. They’re evolved to deal with damp and shaded conditions but the sun helps them both with thermo regulation and nectar synthesis. Plants generally pump better in full sun, too, so they’re more highly scented. Pics are desperately needed on this thread so we can run the image limit again to prove how gay it is. Also, which flowers, please? We always need this information.Related, my borages just coming in to sun now with a couple of Terrestris that have just turned up.
>>5129724Oh, and in case you can’t spot them, they are here and here. Yes, I am too lazy to get my fat arse off my Fleet Commander Adirondack chair to go and photograph them properly.
Have you prepared your elite Crab Spider seek and destroy kit yet, Anonymous?
>>5129595>Looks like it smells.It was open this morning, and so far no obvious smell. No obvious insect activity either though. We'll see what shows up later.
