r/bees

I caught this little bee cutting a circle piece from a leaf then disappeared. Fascinating 🐝🌱

No real discussion here, I just really like this picture that I took here in Connecticut yesterday and wanted to share it.

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A Bee-utiful Honey Bee stopping in to check the ripeness.

#honeybee #croptober #marijuana #natureisbeautiful

Nyctinasty is a flower circadian rhythm where they close at night to protect pollen from moisture or frost. That makes sense for asters since they are late-blooming fall flowers. These two common eastern bumble bee drones have snuggled in for the night (around 5 pm) and taken advantage of being enveloped by flower petals. At least one of them lives here but I haven’t come up with a name for him yet. (Suggestions welcome!) If he does anything interesting tomorrow, I can post an update.

Virginia Natural Heritage Program zoologist Ellison Orcutt recently rediscovered Protandrena abdominalis, a rare, red-colored native bee species that had not been documented in Virginia for more than a century. 

The discovery took place on a privately owned property in Isle of Wight County, where the landowners spent years restoring native flora that helped many bee species spread on their own.

State researchers emphasize that studying rare native bees helps evaluate conservation efforts and protects key pollinators across Virginia's nearly 500 native bee species.

Read more here: https://www.whro.org/environment/2026-10-02/rare-bee-rediscovered-in-virginia-after-more-than-a-century

What does this mean? Are they trying to stay warm? Should I move them?

Look at that proboscis! Watching her and hoping she makes a full recovery 🙏🐝

After planting some native plants (wingstem, cone flower, milkweed, and aster) I’ve started noticing bees. I’ve got a lot of questions. I’m finding answers myself to some of them, but maybe yall can help me out with a few.

1. I’m located in the southeast USA. The bee I’ve attached a picture of, is it just a regular bumble bee? Is that the actual name? How many different kinds are there?

2. If they keep showing up at my house, will they build a hive nearby? How far could they be traveling from their current home to my plants? I haven’t seen any bees around before planting these natives.

3. How cold is too cold for them? Will I be seeing them until temps get into the 40s or 50s?

4. When they are on the flowers, are they just drinking nectar are collecting pollen? They spend a bunch of time hanging around, surely they’re not just “eating” the whole time, right?

Some of the questions might seem dumb, I apologize in advance. I’m pretty ignorant on the subject. Just trying to learn.

I have left my fig tree to the bees. They seem to absolutely love it more than anything I have seen. I have marigold beds and other flowers that they visit all spring and summer, but this seems to bee their favorite.

Rescued the bee from the pool and placed it in a nearby planter. I think this means it's drying itself. Anyone know?