13/04/2025 - Bees and trees
Today on our walk we looked at little things and big things and all the things in between.
A bee just chillin' in its hole. Not sure what type, maybe some sort of mining bee?
A big noble fir and Mrs Spaceways at the bottom. We were trying to find the tallest tree on the hill today. I think this is it. Roughly 33m tall, it felt big standing next to it. Storm Arwen took its twin which I think was taller. It's half truck is just to the right.
If
Enough
Said
Enough
It
Would
Be
Pass it on.
Repost please.
Likes are nice.
But reposts are impactful.
#repost
#share
#BeesNotBillionaires
#bees
#not
#billionaires
#TheBillionaireProblem
If
Enough
Said
Enough
It
Would
Be
Pass it on.
Repost please.
Likes are nice.
But reposts are impactful.
#repost
#share
#BeesNotBillionaires
#bees
#not
#billionaires
#TheBillionaireProblem
This summer I'm going to try luring the eastern shell-nesting mason bee (Osmia conjuncta) into my yard. The species occurs in Pennsylvania but is extremely rare, probably because its preferred shell, Anguispira kochi, is presumed to be locally extinct. But Ontario populations of the bee are thriving and seem completely happy to use shells of Cepaea (an invasive from Europe) so I thought I'd give them a try here. Yes, I know this is futile. #bees #osmia #insects #snails #shells #cepaea #pollinators #entomology #ontario #canada
Are there any flowers that Western honey bees avoid? My sister just got several hives and she is worried about the native bee population having nothing left to eat. I'd love to give her a list of plants to seek out for her property. In Central Oregon, so ideally drought-tolerant, too. Thanks for any ideas. #bees #honey #beekeeping #gardening #honeybees #entomology #flowers #apiary #apis #insect #pollinating #pollinators #oregon
Good morning everyone. I hope all is well. Last night I installed this new hive entrance guard to the hive. The hard working gals don't seem to mind. More room to go in and out than they had before but still easier to defend than a full open entrance. We're looking at a high of 80°F today so they should be active.
My 1st hive inspection is this afternoon. Hopefully Bee Arthur is doing well and laying eggs.
Have a great day! 
New on my #blog: https://aspi.blog/2025/04/13/championship-update/
A look at developments in the County Championship and a photo gallery in two parts.
#cricket #CountyCricket #CountyChampionship #SurreyvHampshire #SURvHAM #photography #KingsLynn #Norwich #Dereham #Scarning #Swaffham #Norfolk #buildings #signs #birds #insects #bees #butterflies #oystercatchers
Early?
You’re darn tootin’ I am!
Got some billionaires to sort out.
#BeesNotBillionaires
Join me?
beesnotbillionaires.org
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 92
For #bumblebees size matters…
…of their antennae!
Bigger #bees with bigger antennae have greater sensitivity to odours.
Large antennae can catch more odour molecules and so are more sensitive to odours than small antennae.
What’s nine hours or so late when we are contemplating 130 million years of existence and evolution?
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 91
Bees foraged amongst dinosaurs.
Ponder that…in the context of our consequence.
A very satisfactory afternoon recording species at a nature reserve. This was one. A gloriosly red Tawny Mining Bee ((Adrena fulva).
It is on field maple, a very under-appreciated tree.
#goodnews #science #animals #insects #bees #agriculture #England
University Develops AI to Detect Invasive Asian Hornets
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/exeter-university-develops-ai-to-detect-asian-hornets/
A bee stealing back the propolis i stole from her
#bees #apismelifera #biodiversity
#InsektenSamstag #insekten #insects #bloomscrolling #flowers #bees
Anflug, Landung, nam nam nam.
Hello everyone, how's it going? 
It's a gorgeous day here so we're working outside on a retaining wall. The ladies are up and working as well. I'll be moving the hive entrance reducer to the bigger side tomorrow during the hive inspection or tonight after dark. Later at 1pm I'll be finishing bee school by doing a hive inspection at a local bee yard. Perfect timing as my 1st inspection on mine is tomorrow.
Have a wonderful day! 
Sometimes things don’t go as planned but, you make a new plan. Working on my (bee propaganda) next print about the future of pollination for Manufactured Ecosystems, I dropped my inked plate with the text and slipped - after completing 9 bees. 
I was pretty frustrated, but I started again from scratch.
But I didn’t want the original, with all that work to go to waste. 
1/n
This weekend (10-14 april) is the Dutch National bee count, where citizens are encouraged to count bees, wasps and hoverflies in their garden or neighbourhood. Knowledge of bee population is important because 80% of edible crops and almost 90% of wild plants are pollinated by bees and other insects. In the Netherlands 34 bee species have already disappeared and half of the 360 species are endangered.
This reddit comment on #spiders #ants and #bees is quite interesting
https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/1jwpxxs/comment/mmm3m7i/
Copying it here if you don't want to click, links with reference at the end might be broken.
-- /u/lamplorde --
So I'm gonna bore people because I'm a bug nerd but:
There is a lot more going on in the insect world than we give credit to, because we simply dont have the technology to accurately study them at that size. Its funny to think about when we have microscopes that let us see the fundamental building blocks of the universe, but when it comes to insect physiology and how their brains work we know very little.
For instance, studies have lead to the theory that Bees most likely do have emotions. It was a simple study, done using Blue Flowers and the fact that Bees still kept a "heightened state" around the color blue when they started to associate it with food. But it doesnt stop there: there were also studies done on Ant colonies regarding their sleep schedules and we came to find that Carpenter Fire Ant Queens sleep for about the same amount of time as us humans, just in lots of little naps. But the interesting part of that one is not just how much they sleep but how. Scientists observed the Ants antenna twitching very similarly to our eyes during REM sleep, leading to the theory that Ants might dream. One last fun tidbit: Jumping Spiders are opportunistic pack hunters. They spend most of their life solitary, but are known to hunt together in mated pairs, becoming extremely effective together with the smaller Male often distracting the prey while the Female pounces. The odd part comes from the fact that they appear to communicate before hunts via a "language" done through foot stamping to plan. Not only that but Jumping Spiders are one of the few insects that display an understanding of Object Permanence, ranking them at least a little above an infant (not that that is saying much).
At the end of the day, we have so much going on below our feet. Entire little lives that we know so little about. Its an interesting and vibrant world.
EDIT By popular demand, things I should have included to begin with (the all important sources):
Bees and Emotion
Ants and Dreaming (My apologies, it was Fire Ants, not Carpenters
Jumping Spiders and Object Permanence
Which, when trying to find my old sources funnily enough brought me to a new (to me) study that Jumping Spiders might also dream
Late.
But worth the wait!
It’s #Friday folks!
Have the best #weekend you can.
You know the drill.
Be #kind
Be #gentle
Be #true
Be like #bees
Stay clear of cults, fascists and criminals ie American presidents.
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 90
Even within the same colony not all #bumblebees spend the same amount of time actively foraging for pollen and nectar.
Bees that spend more time foraging tend to have shorter lifespans than those bees that forage less often.
