Yay for tags! I just came back to lj tonight specifically to read your old bee posts to see if I could learn something. I found a bee in my garden today. She appears to be a forager at the end of her days - no pollen evident in her sack, very tattered wings, sitting very still. I thought she might just be tired or cold, since it was a pretty cold day (but the first dry and sunny day in about a week). I gave her some sugar water on my gardening glove and she perked up a bit, flapping for a few minutes but not taking off. I thought she might be too cold or hungry still for flight so I gave her some honey (she ran to jar as soon as I opened it then gorged herself for about 10 minutes)... she was definitely hungry. I sat in the vege garden, bee on my hand for a good 30 minutes or so, thinking about your Melissa and how sweet she was. I brought Arthur inside to get warm, and gave her some honey, and she sat on the back of my hands (eating on one, resting on the other) for hours. I've popped her in a shoebox with the gloves (she seems to like them), and her choice of honey and sugar water. I'm hoping that tomorrow she'll be able to warm up enough to fly home... or can at least die peacefully in the warm instead of sitting on a spinach leaf in chilly drizzle.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2018-12-01 01:52 pm (UTC)I found a bee in my garden today. She appears to be a forager at the end of her days - no pollen evident in her sack, very tattered wings, sitting very still. I thought she might just be tired or cold, since it was a pretty cold day (but the first dry and sunny day in about a week). I gave her some sugar water on my gardening glove and she perked up a bit, flapping for a few minutes but not taking off. I thought she might be too cold or hungry still for flight so I gave her some honey (she ran to jar as soon as I opened it then gorged herself for about 10 minutes)... she was definitely hungry.
I sat in the vege garden, bee on my hand for a good 30 minutes or so, thinking about your Melissa and how sweet she was.
I brought Arthur inside to get warm, and gave her some honey, and she sat on the back of my hands (eating on one, resting on the other) for hours. I've popped her in a shoebox with the gloves (she seems to like them), and her choice of honey and sugar water.
I'm hoping that tomorrow she'll be able to warm up enough to fly home... or can at least die peacefully in the warm instead of sitting on a spinach leaf in chilly drizzle.