Post B1jD0ymMZotBmLyMKW by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
(DIR) More posts by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
(DIR) Post #B1jCz8jwZTDW5pxojQ by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T19:47:28Z
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It’s #winter. The buzzing has stopped - mostly.So what’s happened to all the #bees?Let me explain.Please #repost this thread.Don’t just like/look.It literally takes you a second. Costs you nothing.Bees are in trouble and need you good people to help.Thank you.#share 1/14
(DIR) Post #B1jCzGo8ZlKD79zHNY by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T19:50:31Z
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So after a relatively good summer here for #bees what are they up to now you’ve probably been wondering? Okay then, let’s take a broad look at our little #friends at this time of year.Again please #repost / #share.The more informed more folks are the better for bees. 2/14
(DIR) Post #B1jCzPGn76zzMLSH9U by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T19:53:17Z
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And they do need better from us!Spoiler alert!Bumbles - new queens in hibernation.Solitaries - kids in cocoons.Honeys - small ball of hot hive-bound bees. So let’s start with honey #bees and get them out of the way as you know they’re not really our thing here. 3/14
(DIR) Post #B1jCzXHnJGYSDlzBpI by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T19:55:03Z
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#Honeybees don’t hibernate. They reduce the colony numbers but stay active within the hive. As temperatures drop (below 50ºF) they form a cluster (ball of #bees) in the #hive in order to use body heat primarily to keep the queen alive. This cluster will have a densely…4/14
(DIR) Post #B1jCzfU8pFBVeNpABM by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T19:57:07Z
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…packed ‘outer shell’ of #bees surrounding a less tightly packed inner core and requires a lot of honey and body vibrating to maintain the heat required for survival - up to 100ºF in the centre. #Honeybee worker life expectancy increases greatly during the #winter from…5/14
(DIR) Post #B1jCznGbtR79mjYTCa by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:00:22Z
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…around 6 weeks during the summer to up to 6 months over #winter due mainly to the lower work load. Male honey bees don’t do winter - dying off before the colony retreat to the hive! In warmer climes the colony works all year round.Next up we have the solitary #bees.6/14
(DIR) Post #B1jCzvg4ceEhs1Wv0C by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:05:07Z
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After mating in spring/summer the female will have prepared a nest into which she will have laid her eggs in individual pods/cells - fertilised eggs will become females and unfertilised eggs often laid nearer the nest entrance will become males. She will have provisioned…7/14
(DIR) Post #B1jD03m2WLlIyqNnPc by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:08:19Z
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…these pods with food before sealing them up. The males and females will have died off shortly afterwards leaving the kids to ‘fend for themselves’. The eggs hatch and the larvae will eat the food provided and develop into adults while overwintering in their pods/cocoons…8/14
(DIR) Post #B1jD0C6tWhCIpqCZ1s by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:11:37Z
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…which is where they are now.And finally to the big girls of the bee world - the bumbles.Towards the end of summer #bumblebee nests come to a natural end - the males, female workers and old queen die leaving just the new queens alive. These queens feed up and go into…9/14
(DIR) Post #B1jD0KXmAdSAzWq92W by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:14:10Z
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…#hibernation (some for as long as 9 months!). They will dig their own hibernaculum usually in loose well drained soil on a north-facing bank (banks are less likely to flood and north-facing means that they are less likely to emerge too early due to unseasonable sunny…10/14
(DIR) Post #B1jD0SnfTQv2b8KwvA by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:16:33Z
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…days heating the soil over the winter). They will dig down about 4/5 inches into the soil and when comfortable enter a dormant state. During hibernation glycerol in the #bumblebee body acts like antifreeze preventing water in the bee body turning to ice. Other preferred…11/14
(DIR) Post #B1jD0afoCXNz14immW by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:20:26Z
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…#hibernation sites include inside tree hollows, under bark, beneath fallen #leaves, #compost heaps and even in plant pots - so be vigilant in your #garden!In the UK and Ireland we are now increasingly seeing ‘winter active’ #bumblebees specifically Buff-tailed bumbles.12/14
(DIR) Post #B1jD0ipJt3kOItEUiW by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:23:17Z
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This phenomenon and how to help bees over the winter I will cover in a separate thread.Hope this has helped increase your understanding of #bees a little.Thread is a generalisation and there are variances between species and regions.Please share among your crew.#repost 🙏🏼13/14
(DIR) Post #B1jD0qtVtLr5KDFxMe by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:27:25Z
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In a world that appears ever more divided, ever more angry, ever more willing to embrace the obvious annihilistic option we refuse to give up on the premise that most #people are #decent. That most people #care deeply.Maybe we can #unite over #bees.Do the right thing for once. Make the good choice.Maybe?Please share this thread far and wide. #repost We know you care.Show us. Show one another.Show the bees you care.It’s okay to care.It’s more fulfilling than hate.14/14 Part 1/2
(DIR) Post #B1jD0ymMZotBmLyMKW by thebeeguy@mastodon.ie
2025-12-28T20:31:41Z
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More natural than vitriolMore infectious than Covid.More godly than prayer.More active than hope.More powerful than greed.Don’t be afraid to care.Deeply.You’ll find you’re not alone.Promise.Thanks for your time.I’ll shut up now…14/14 Part 2/2