![]() What if a bumble bee seems to be too weak to fly?Ī grounded bumble bee may be sick or old there is nothing you could do. We don't fully understand this process, but the starvation hypothesis would explain why honey bees are immune to the lure of lime tree nectar - they have honey stores back at the hive. So they waste a lot of energy for a meagre return, and eventually they become lethargic and die. ![]() But by then bumble bees are reaching the end of their lives, and have less vitality to get going. Bumble bees keep visiting lime trees, as there are few alternatives at that time of the year. Seasonality is the most likely explanation for the phenomenon lime trees produce lots of nectar, but its volume drops considerable towards the end of the flowering season. However, recent research has failed to detect any harmful components in lime nectar. Large numbers of dead or dying bumble are often found around some species of lime trees (particularly silver lime, Tilia tomentosa), and it has been proposed that natural chemicals in the nectar of these trees are poisonous to bumble bees. ![]() Parasitesīumble bees are victims of several viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms that debilitate and often kill their hosts. Bumble bees killed by birds often have the contents of their abdomen removed, as the birds usually attack the hind end first to remove the bee’s sting. Several species of birds, great tits in particular, attack bumble bees. If heavy rainfall floods the nest, the bees become waterlogged and may drown or be killed by the cold. Many bumble bee species live as small colonies in burrows in the ground, or within walls and banks. Large number of deaths may also happen if the temperature dips suddenly and severely, usually in the early evening, catching bees outside the nest. Cold weatherĪ spell of cold weather after a reasonable warm period may kill bumble bees and other bees as well. Additionally, all bees chuck out debris and dead bees from their nest to maintain hygiene, so a cluster of dead bumble bees could mean that there is a nest nearby, even though you may not see it. Old bumble bees often can be identified by their ragged wings. At the end of the season, only the new queens will live to establish new colonies the following year - the rest of the colony dies. Worker bumble bees have relatively short lives – four weeks is the average lifespan. There are several natural causes of bumble bee mass mortality. The sight of large numbers of dead or dying bumble bees on the ground may be alarming, but the phenomenon is fairly common and usually not related to human actions.
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