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I think it is typical of all bees that males don't
work or sting, isn't it? Certainly different species will have varying
nesting habits and degrees of aggression.
Bob Kelly
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2003 1:45
PM
Subject: RE: [NAFEX] Bumble
aggression
I
wonder if the species of bumble bee makes a difference. The common one
in the Pacific Northwest is Bombus occidentalis. Only the
queen and female worker bees (the future queens) have stingers. The
male drones that show up later in the summer have no
stingers.
Here
are some more facts about this interesting pollinator..
"The drones once hatched leave the nest
and live independent lives, their only purpose being to mate with the young
queens to ensure the survival of the species. Unlike honey bees the young
bumble queens will continue to live and work in the mother colony for the
remainder of the Summer and Autumn. Come the first sharp drop in
temperature and frosts the old queen, her workers and the independent drones
will die. Only the newly mated queens will survive in hibernation to begin the
cycle again the following Spring."
-Mark
Lee, Seattle, z7b/8a
Yeah, Gene. That is more like my
experience. When growing up in the Mississippi Delta, I can remember
accidentally disturbing bumblebee nests. The sting would almost
knock you down. (Like a hornet, I was told, tho I was never stung by
one of those.) While the sting was very potent, the pain did not linger, the
way a yellow jacket sting would (like for several days).
Their procedure, when disturbed, was to emerge
from their hole in the ground, and begin flying in an ever widening circle
at about 3 feet above the ground. Supposedly their vision is poor, so
this is their search procedure. If one realized he had disturbed the
nest, he had time to retreat.
Bob Kelly
NW Mississippi Zone 7b
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2003 1:00
PM
Subject: [NAFEX] Bumble
aggression
In my experience, disturbing a
wild bumblebee nest is a "stimulating" event. Sometimes, I'll
accidentally scythe around a nest entrance & get an unexpected bit of
sprint training, usually after a very painful sting or two. Not
quite as bad as yellow jackets for mass attacks, but still pretty
aggressive....
gene
That's the most
aggressive behavior I've ever heard of in bumble bees. Are you
sure you didn't have a species of underground living wasp?
-Lon Rombough
From: "Bruce Hansen"
<brucehansen@acd.net>
Reply-To: North American Fruit
Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Mon, 21 Apr
2003 13:49:38 -0400
To: "North American Fruit Explorers"
<nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: RE: [NAFEX] bumble
bee as pollinator
Mark:
I have found a similar thing
with bumble bees. However, if you disturb their
nest they will
chase you. I did this and was chased from the barn to the
house
(100 yds)where, to escape, I closed the screen door behind me. The
bee
buzzed the screen several times and then waited for me to come
out.
Bruce z5 MI
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