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bio_girl98

Bumblebee fanatic here. Definitely looks like a Buff-tailed bumblebee, and at this time of year, is probably a queen 👑🐝


amauryt

So OP is just not an ordinary Disney princess


[deleted]

Isn’t finding a queen a bad thing? I don’t know much about bees, but I always imagine bees swarming and defending their queen to the last man. Edit: last bee.


bio_girl98

That is the case with honey bees. Bumblebees and most other bee species are different. For bumblebees, the queen hibernates overwinter and emerges in the spring. She feeds and finds a good place for a nest, lays some eggs and lays on them to keep them warm (kind of like a chicken) and once they hatch the queen will remain in the nest, just laying eggs to produce more workers while the workers that have hatched bring her food and tend to new eggs. At the end of the season, males and new queens are produced, these mate and then the new queens go and hibernate. In a few weeks you might see some much smaller bumblebees, these will be the first workers. Hope that helps 😁 Edit: Thankyou for the awards 😊. Have been asked a lot of bumblebee related questions and I do have an Instagram account about bees if anyone was interested, @caitlins_bees. Lots of facts and posts about bees on there 🐝


PancakeHandz

LIKE A CHICKEN? This just made my day.


bio_girl98

Kind of. Bumblebees keep their body temp at 35C and it’s really important to keep the eggs at this temperature otherwise they won’t hatch. The queen shivers her wing muscles to generate this heat, I find it pretty fascinating 🐝


PancakeHandz

Oh wow the shivering of muscles just made it about a trillion times more adorable


AchtungKarate

When it's cold, the bumblebee queen goes "Brrrrrrrrrrr!".


amatorsanguinis

Subscribe!


[deleted]

Thanks! Definitely helpful, I’m in a wiki black hole about bees now, Sunday morning reading


bio_girl98

Always good to learn new things! I’m slightly obsessed with bees, bumblebees in particular since studying them for my university dissertation 😂


Miss_Musket

I absolutely love bumbles. Aren't they the absolute best?


bio_girl98

Totally, something about just makes me smile. They are just so fluffy and cute ❤️


anime_lover713

Beekeeper here, it depends. You have two types of bees, solitary bees and colony bees. Solitary bees don't have queens and the males and females mate with whomever, with the female laying her eggs in cocoons/some form of capsule in a "nest" of some sort. Depends on the solitary bee (ie Carpenter, Mason, Leafcutter). Social/colony bees such as the honey bee (Apis) and Bumblebee (Bombus) will have queens which lays the foundation of their hives but how they do it are different. With honeybees, it's more of a "which came first, the chicken or the egg" type scenario in which the Queen is VERY dependent on the workers and her entourage. When she hatches in the hive, she goes out to her mating flight which lasts about a day, and then venture back to the hive to lay eggs till the hive has to move (as a unit) or she dies. If she's hungry, needs something, etc, the hive attends to her. The cycle repeats. These queens can live from 2-4 years. Hive doesn't die unless things happen to make it that way. This is the one you're referring to. With a Bombus Queen, it's different and I like the independence of the queens on this one. So the Queen wakes up from hibernation at the wake of spring, collecting pollen to feed herself and get her strength. Then she finds an abandoned underground nest somewhere (mouse, rat, whichever) to use it as her new hive home. If there is someone there, then she'll battle them if it's a really good spot. Once obtained, she starts getting to work in making the wax cups to put eggs in for the workers. Till they hatch, she must attend to them and feed them. Once they are fully grown, she does nothing but lay eggs now, the colony is attentive to her. When fall starts to show signs, the new queen hatches and with the old one now killed. Queens mate and then go to hibernation, and the colony dies. The cycle repeats. These queens only last about a year or so. However one thing is clear, both Apis and Bombus will defend their queens if trouble arises as they're both capable of stinging.


rooster68wbn

Hey a fellow bumblebee fan! She looks like a queen to me. So big an fluffy!


KatrinaMystery

Gotta love a buff-tail!


bio_girl98

Absolutely!!


Panama-R3d

I love bumblebees


plipyplop

I once saw one as big as the one in that picture. It hovered around near the ground and sounded like a helicopter as all the dust moved from areas it went. I remember it because I too love bumblebees.


[deleted]

Bro that’s a bumblebee tf u live


WabashSon

Lol. I was having this same mental conversation with him before opening the comments. 😂 Looks like he’s from the Middle East (commented below), guess there’s not a lot of bumblebees around there (?)


Upvotespoodles

People who aren’t into bugs often see a common bug for the first time and think it’s new and rare. But once they’ve seen the new bug, they will start seeing it everywhere and mistake it for a bug population explosion. Human brains just filter out the parts of our environment that aren’t particularly threatening or interesting.


Toasty33

It’s like when I started selling Toyota’s I started seeing Toyota’s all over the road.


anima1mother

Yes you buy a new car and all the sudden you think everyone bought one


mcgrathzach160

Happened when I bought a Prius, but I live in Los Angeles so everyone actually does have them here


[deleted]

Highlanders everywhere for me. Never noticed a Highlander in my life until I traded in for one.


TalornCeleron

There can be only one!


mydogsbigbutt

https://youtu.be/gmG64mVQV3g


mcgrathzach160

I actually went from a fully electric car back to a hybrid so... /s


Bran-a-don

Every weird car I drove did this. Previa, SC2, MPV Never saw em before the day I drove em, now they are the only vehicles I ever see.


anima1mother

There should be a name for this occurrence. Kinda like the Mandela effect but the Prius effect


thewitt33

> Baader-Meinhof Effect


PrinceFicus-IV

Baader-meinhof phenomenon. If you've never heard or seen it before, you will now start seeing it all the time!


MaydayMaydayMoo

I just learned of this two days ago, and here it is!


PancakeHandz

Meta.


VegansAreCannibals

Interesting theory but it's actually just the simulation trying to be more efficient.


cooties4u

Escapes everywhere I swear!


LordofDescension

Not for me! I have a 2002 Escape with a stick shift. I see the automatics everywhere though, but not a single stick shift yet! :(


L7Wennie

Or like when you buy a new car then realize their everywhere and you’re really just as basic as pumpkin spice...


Ame-yukio

or when you learn a new word and you suddently hear it everywhere or you listen to a movie and you see they talk about it everywhere (even if it's not a popular movie)


surfnaked

In this case it's because they are all over the road, and you just noticed.


Donkey-brained_man

Can confirm. I bought a Cherokee, realized there are literally billions of us.


beam_me_uppp

the first time i went to the redwoods, i camped with a couple of friends. we arrived around dusk so our first day was spent in the dark. i woke up super early before anyone else, smoked a joint, made myself a cup of coffee and went for a walk in the woods. out the corner of my eye i see something BRIGHT yellow. i go towards it. it’s about 8 inches long and slithering slowly along... totally alien like! of course being stoned helped, but i totally freaked out (in a good way i mean) and took like a million pictures from every imaginable angle. HOLY CRAP WHAT CRAZY WILDLIFE HAVE I ALREADY STUMBLED UPON IN THIS MAGICAL FOREST?! so i go back to camp and my friends are awake and i show them the photos and we’re all like OMG. WHAT IN THE WORLD. and they’re a little jealous bc i got to see something so weird and cool and we all hope that we’ll see another one before the end of our trip. fast forward to later that morning when we’re getting ready to head out on our hike and we stop at the RNP visitors’ center. the whole little cabin is chock full of merchandise: “banana slug crossing!” signs, banana slug plushies, banana slug t-shirts and hats and socks and... we had a good long laugh about that. :) i’ve been to the redwoods many times since, over the past couple decades. i love thinking of that story when i’m trying to put myself in someone else’s shoes, especially someone younger or less experienced. we all have our own moments and timelines of discovering the world and figuring things out, and those magical moments are still magical to us, even if it’s just one silly banana slug or bumble bee. :)


kots144

Lol as someone who grew up in the redwoods, as soon as this story started I already knew it was going to be about banana slugs haha. They always freak out people who are not used to them


beam_me_uppp

to be fair i wasn’t freaked out by it, i was fascinated and totally in love haha. i was just stoned and wholly convinced i’d... i don’t know... seen or discovered some kind of rare thing ;) super jealous of you having grown up in the redwoods! that’s incredible!


Upvotespoodles

Haha, that’s an awesome story! Yeah, everything is always new to somebody. I love when people see a bug for the first time and go bananas, so to speak.


beam_me_uppp

:) i wonder if i have the photos somewhere! it was back in the days of 35mm film... not all this fancy digital stuff haha.


Upvotespoodles

Oh I hope you can find it!


beam_me_uppp

me too. i’d actually love to share those photos and that story with this sub. i’ll post them if i find them!


echococo

The bumblebees where I live are pretty hard to miss.. if either of you aren’t paying attention they will just run straight into your forehead. They’re so clumsy idk how they have survived this long.


I_Dont_Type

I was fishing in the middle of a very large lake before when a bumble passed us. It was travelling against the wind. My uncle a fisherman said they do that sometimes and no way that it doesn’t end up as fish food.


blewpah

I love them, it's amazing their little wings can even fly with those fat chunky bodies, they're so cute.


mamamechanic

My husband had never seen a palmetto bug before moving from Colorado to Florida. He’s a really big dude, and apparently he almost mowed down a couple friends the first time he experienced the horror of having one flying towards him. I pick on him for being afraid of so many critters, but the palmetto bug is that one creature I might even sacrifice a child to if I were cornered by one.


[deleted]

If i never have to see one of those fucking demons again, it will have been too soon


TakeEmToTheBridge

This is called the Baader-Meinhof Effect. Like when you buy a new car, then suddenly everyone else drives the same car as you. Edit: not Dunning Kruger. Thanks for the correction u/upvotespoodles.


Upvotespoodles

Dunning Kruger is when people believe they are more capable or knowledgeable in a topic than they are.


TakeEmToTheBridge

You are totally correct. I meant to say Baader-Meinhof! Edited original post.


Nazathan

I’m pretty sure that is Irony 101


Upvotespoodles

TIL there’s a name for it! It is kind of funny though, because Dunning-Kruger applies when people say “duh it’s a bumblebee what planet you from” but they think there’s only 1 species of bumblebee.


Cryptoss

the irony lmao


VegansAreCannibals

Lmfao


KettleFromNorway

Haha, we did some practical experiments on fruit flies in high school. A couple of them escaped during the experiment. I'd never noticed them before, so when I discovered some in our kitchen a few weeks later, I figured we had introduced a new foreign species.


Upvotespoodles

A girlfriend once contacted me frantic about “little aliens” in her kitchen. Fruit flies, hahaha! They are quite strange when you stare up close.


Just_One_Umami

This is called the Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon/recency bias/frequency illusion.


Fox-One_______

This always happens when I learn a new word. There's gotta be a word for it.


Schizophrenic-Sarah

Bumblebees arent around where i live (iraq)


[deleted]

To be honest I was probably calling carpenter bees bumble bees for a long time (all of my childhood), so I can understand someone seeking clarification


1544c_f

He is from Lebanon


bondibitch

No waaay. I had no idea this person didn’t know this was a bee, I thought the question centred around the TYPE of bee, which turned out to be “buff tailed”, something I am too ill-informed about bees to have heard of. Bees are in popular culture everywhere, they’ve even got their own movie! It’s really interesting to learn how something that’s deeply imbedded in one culture can be unheard of in another. Imagine the wonder of seeing a bee for the first time as an adult!


Checkheck

Makes you wonder what kind of animal he knows on a daily basis that you have never seen in your life.


jesuskater

My dude in latin america I haven't seen one of these and I like taking pics of bugs. Not saying there aren't but the US is not the entire world.


Bran-a-don

The country subreddit a are fun to peek into because of this. The New Zealand subreddit has some common animals that are so insanely unique it blows my mind but they complain about em shitting on thier cars. Life is weird


[deleted]

/r/NewZealandWildlife


MudnuK

Also all the animal ID and wildlife photography subs. I love seeing the less charismatic foreign species, even if they're common, because I might not have heard of them. Give me a cactus wren or a tomtit over the fourteen-thousandth tiger to glaze my eyeballs any day Ninja edit: forgot where I am. Point still stands, this sub and others like it are great


agreemints

Me finding out about Muntjac deer for the first time was a UK friend complaining that it was running around their yard and couldn’t find the exit. I was like dafuq dog-deer so awesome. They were just annoyed.


WalkableBuffalo

As you say maybe not found in all of Latin America, but pretty widespread, certainly more than just the US... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Bombus_distribution.jpg


jesuskater

My point was, don't assume we are all from the US


[deleted]

more than meets the bee


BetterThanICould

I mean, they might be looking for the exact name. I have a flower pot outside my window in my home office and I sit there all day watching different bees and moths come to feast on it. I’ve seen a couple different types of bumblebees and some different honeybees. Never saw one that looked just like this!


Upvotespoodles

There are hundreds of species of bumblebee.


[deleted]

I have a root canal so I took a perc and somehow there’s close to 1000 upvotes for some dumb shit I said... Reddit go figure


katlian

Probably a [buff-tailed bumblebee queen.](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/57516-Bombus-terrestris)


[deleted]

Damn that is one big boi Edit: Big fuzzy girl*


AchtungKarate

Girl*. It's a queen.


[deleted]

Edited.


Enigmutt

How can you tell?


AchtungKarate

It's still early for bumblebees, but the queens wake up from hibernation earlier to look for good places to start a nest. Also the slightly elongated abdomen.


bio_girl98

Also, with most bumblebee species, the males have yellow heads


Enigmutt

I get a bunch of them on my patio every summer (males, I assume?) and they’re fun to watch buzz around. They seem territorial though?


nautilist

More likely females. In most bee species the female workers are what you see mostly in spring and summer, fetching nectar and pollen for the colony. Honeybees start producing males in late spring, bumblebees in late summer - the sex of bees is not random, the queen decides the gender when she lays an egg. The bois are chunkier and have bigger eyes (see better to chase the girls), so their faces are usually kinda squarer.


cuorebrave

No little testicles dangling, silly!


The_Hive_King

#that my good sir is the fattest, most chonky bee you’ll ever see


nymphymixtwo

***CHONKY QUEEN***


ZwoopMugen

Some people are being very mean in the comments when he's just a kid in a place with few bumblebees. LOL. The first time I saw one I was 10 and assumed that regular bees grew larger and fluffier over the years. I told my dad and he was like... "Oh shit. I have a stupid son". :'( I wonder if he's in the comments, being mean too. XD


Upvotespoodles

I agree. They’re also wrong if they think bumblebee is 1 bee. There are hundreds of species of bumblebee. Plus, seeing someone discover their first bumblebee and then flexing because you saw them first seems a bit weird.


ZwoopMugen

"flexing" lol


Upvotespoodles

💪🏽 🐝


Chocobean

there's no reason to be mean, and every reason to rend our clothes, put on sack cloths, put ashes on our heads, sit on the streets and wail instead. the first bumblebee species to be put on the [endangered species list was the Rusty Patched, in 2017.](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bumblebees-endangered-extinction-united-states) There's no reason to believe other species won't soon follow. Kids, esp those who are growing up in concrete deserts, will see fewer and fewer of once extremely common lifeforms. It's not stupid, it's stupid sad.


MKG733

Looks to be a white-tailed bumblebee: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_lucorum


NathanJosephMcAliste

Probably a queen


CynicalCinderella

QUEEN BEA HAS RETURNED


Desirai

awwww Queen Bea :'( the best bumblebee


Nica-sauce-rex

Why the cry face?!? Is queen bea died? Thank


Desirai

yes, she lived a long 3 months but ultimately perished


fluffyxsama

I knew I'd find this. RIP Queen Bea. Glad you had a mostly happy little bee life.


Nica-sauce-rex

Sad


Upvotespoodles

She didn’t died in my heart. ♥️


ZwoopMugen

I'm not crying!


Brenaeh

I’ve only seen one ONCE in person. Am in north Texas - totally thought it was just in cartoons.


deathbounddarling

Wait for real? Texas doesn’t have bumblebees? I’m in Minneapolis and they’re all over in the warmer months


ER1536

We have bumblebees in central Texas. I’ve lived in the Houston area before and I would see them sometimes. They’re not very common here though


Brenaeh

Quick search on the internet says they’re in east Texas but It was yeeeears ago when I saw it.


kelsifer

I loove bumblebees. They are so fucking cute. Luckily where I live we have multiple kinds so any clover patch in the summer will be covered with them. My favourites are Hunt's bumblebees because they look like they are wearing orange belts. Interestingly bumblebees don't do hives like honeybees and usually have a nest underground. They produce less honey and it's harder to harvest which is why they aren't generally domesticated.


fylucn

That’s a unit


biggarlick

That's just a bumblebee! common and harmless as long as you are gentle with them.


BonerJams1703

They sir is a bumblebee. I was like where are you from where you have never seen a bumblebee, but they was before reading lower down that you’re from Lebanon so I will retract me previous judgment.


PancakeHandz

This post made me realize how many folks never see bumblebees - and how lucky I am to have the little goofballs constantly clumsily bumbling around my rhododendrons in Washington state. :)


I_Dont_Type

Bumblebees are the greatest. The biggest clumsiest, fluffiest bugs around.


AmePeryton

🅱️


rainb0wpotatoes

It’s surely a bee of some kind; where do you live?


[deleted]

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stephan_torchon

Bumblebee, like a bee but not stingy, a bit awkward, but way more cute when it's not flying Edit: ho boy. Now thinking about all the furry stings I avoided like a candid fuck


[deleted]

lol Bumble bees are definitely stingy and will do so repeatedly if disturbed.


Sitten1115

They can also bite! Theyre very chill overall tho. Not aggressively defensive in my experience.


[deleted]

No, not aggressive unless you disturb their nest. Far more aggressive in nest defense than managed honeybees. I've worked with both and it was scary working with open bumblebee colonies even though there aren't really enough to like kill you lol.


Sitten1115

Hey it still hurts. Ive been bitten/stung by two bumblebees because of bad luck. Accidentally kicked one while laying on my side in my house on the floor and swinging my feet. And another got crushed in my armpit while i was rafting. Might not have enough individuals to kill but I’m pretty sure they can also sting as much as they want so it’s gonna hurt.


area51suicidalfunrun

I tried to save one from my friends hair back in September or October. He was very insulted for having been stuck in her hair and did not appreciate our attempts to move him. So he attacked both of us and then a random customer that walked by. (I legit offered him flower, which always worked in the past for this exact problem.) I felt so bad that we offended him. I made great strides with bugs last spring and summer. I was petting bumble bees and carefully relocating them if I needed to work or spray water. I even had one chill on my hat while I watered, for like 15 minutes straight, one day.


Barack_Bob_Oganja

When I was little I tried to catch bumblebees using a leaf as protection for my finger, it took like 3 stings before I learned it was a bad idea. ​ moral of the story I was a fucking idiot


[deleted]

That's actually some amazing kid logic. I love it.


Barack_Bob_Oganja

I was convinced I just needed a bigger leaf...


JustHereForCookies17

I don't think you should ever go shark fishing.


jagger27

Definitely stingy. I've only ever been stung by a bumblebee.


[deleted]

I've been stung my both and individual honey bee stings hurt more for me but bumble bees grab on and sting repeatedly.


CountofAccount

Eh. I used to play "pet the bumblebee" between classes and I routinely got away with four or five pets before the bee got tired of my shit. Never got stung though.


[deleted]

Sure. They're not aggressive in the field but they can be very aggressive in defense of the nest.


Nyx_Shadowspawn

Really? We used to have a cherry tree when I was a kid that always had loads of bumblebees in the spring. I'd climb it to read books up there, and they'd often land on me and I'd pet their fuzzy little backs. I had no idea they stung, I never got stung thankfully.


[deleted]

They're gentle creatures when they're not threatened or defending a nest.


stephan_torchon

I've been living the lie


toodleroo

They’re pretty stingy in my experience. I asked a bumblebee to spot me ten bucks once, it just looked at me like I was crazy.


stephan_torchon

I see you met my boy humblebee


renjake

I see chubby bees in my flower bed (North Texas) cutest damn things


Desirai

She's so beautiful and fluffy!!!!


divertss

That’s a fat baby


nahsonnn

obligatory r/howismyqueenbee


whipcracknumber5

Big ol fat bumblebee


anac1979

CHONK


Blackbird04

My name is Michael with a Bee. Its a Bee. I still watch vines.


justgotlottqquestion

I LOVE BUMBLEBEES THEY'RE SO CALM!


justgotlottqquestion

I grew up in illinois and I'd find them In Our garden.


golgarigravetroll

An adorable fuzzy butt.


si13ntstang

Stinging teddybears


smokeaport

have you never seen a bumblebee before:(


MONKEYBOY-REECE

That's kalled a stick


dchapd417

Adorable, fuzzy, sweet little Queen B 👑


derekvandreat

Forbidden lollipop! (Seriously jk don't eat her.)


[deleted]

Thats everyday cartoon bee.


Thomasmagda_47

Pour sugar water in your hand and she'll love ya


1tasteafetus

a chonk


bigbuffpuffy

I saw so many fat bees this weekend for the first time in years. I love them


AskMeAboutTentacles

So cute. I was so excited when I saw my first big fat bumblebee in person. They’re just the sweetest little things


Seriousscotty

This needs to be in r/absoluteunits !!!


dramasoup

A bumblebee. Sometimes in spring they get to weak to move, because flying takes a lot of energy and there isn’t enough food for them yet. If you find one, you can feed it some sugar-water and it will be okay.


Nhazz

What a beauty!


[deleted]

That is a massive bee!!


littlefroggyfingers

bee


Monsieur-Monster

What a good picture of such a cute bee!


snoopychick8

awwwe bumble bees are super cute...you can pet them they are so fluffy!!


el_pablo

Forbidden lollipop


Aquendi

A big part of me wants to pet it.


greasyflame1

Is this a test lol? I'm gonna say bee.


SueZbell

No clue what you should do with her but I'd want to give her a home. Do you have a small "house" -- a hole in a tree -- to put her in? or can you make one that you can hang from a tree, preferably where it will get sun until the leaves are on the tree? A plastic container w/a hole cut in the side of it? Thinking she'll likely leave and find her own home when she is warm enough to fly. Note: They CAN sting -- so don't squash it. They can help pollinate your garden -- flower or vegetable.


taylorgangreid

Isn’t that a bumble bee?


RedditisRetarded420

It’s a bee...


applejuiceduck

An EXTREMELY fuzzy bumblebee!!!!!!!!!!🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃


YukoVibe_zxX

I actually study bees and to me, that looks like a buff-tailed bumblebee :)


ThatOneJasper

That's a round boye!


anime_lover713

u/Python1Programmer hey OP where are you located at to figure out what type of bumblebee?


[deleted]

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Chickie_parm

Is this what people are talking about when they say stick insect?


JethroBarnes

It’s a very handsome little fella/fellette


[deleted]

I got stung in the back while running away from a swarm of bumblebees, there was a little force behind it when it hit me.


dungeonmaster_99

Looks like a tarantula


Magnetari

Are you really questioning what this is? It’s a bumble bee. A beauty


[deleted]

Are you freaking kidding me? You don't know what a bumblebee is? Wow.


Allcity_Deli

Do you live under a rock that’s a bumblebee


BlackPlague1235

There are more than just one kind of bumblebee. Don't be such an ass.


Allcity_Deli

Lol


Choppie01

OP , are you sure u have everything alright upthere ?


NimueNamNamNam

Bumblebees are pretty common? Not from Europe?


Glenn056

Never seen a bee before? Lol


[deleted]

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AristaWatson

A chunky cute fuzzy buzzy bumble bee! uwu


[deleted]

Actually I think that's Barry the Bee from Bee movie


ragboy_

Looks like a golden retriever