Question for any bumble bee enthusiasts here.
We recently visited a lake in South Island New Zealand and there were hundreds of bumble bees flying about in the car park.
The minute we got out of the car we were covered in them and they were super persistent. They didn't seem to be attracted to any particular colour, just anything that moved. And they seemed to be looking for something. I had around 5-10 on me at all times and it was really tricky to get them all off without hurting any to get back in the car. (So many people coming for picnics gave up within minutes.)
Is this a mating thing/seasonal thing? There seemed to be different sized ones. Slightly smaller ones and then a some bigger fluffy bottomed ones. So interested!
I should also note we tried to look this up online but there didn't seem to be anything about bumble bees swarming in a large area. Also, it's late summer here and it was a coolish day with the sun still out.
#insect #bees #nature #newzealand #science
George Penney /
npub18z…mrtuz
2024-02-15 19:41:25
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npub18zlqrfnjj2m7g5vt3n23nm8rd8zhegssrd4fvlpafldzyhgladuqrmrtuzPublished at
2024-02-15 19:41:25Event JSON
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"content": "Question for any bumble bee enthusiasts here. \n\nWe recently visited a lake in South Island New Zealand and there were hundreds of bumble bees flying about in the car park.\n\nThe minute we got out of the car we were covered in them and they were super persistent. They didn't seem to be attracted to any particular colour, just anything that moved. And they seemed to be looking for something. I had around 5-10 on me at all times and it was really tricky to get them all off without hurting any to get back in the car. (So many people coming for picnics gave up within minutes.)\n\nIs this a mating thing/seasonal thing? There seemed to be different sized ones. Slightly smaller ones and then a some bigger fluffy bottomed ones. So interested! \n\nI should also note we tried to look this up online but there didn't seem to be anything about bumble bees swarming in a large area. Also, it's late summer here and it was a coolish day with the sun still out. \n\n#insect #bees #nature #newzealand #science",
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