"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...

I rescued a huge bumble bee from upstairs yesterday. It was
trying desperately to get out of a window and making a heck
of a racket. Not the easiest things to rescue. Putting a
pot over it was the easy bit, but trying to slide a lid
between the window and the bee without squishing or
severing any legs was tricky. Finally got it outside and
removed the lid and it spent a couple of minutes trying to
get out via the bottom of the box rather than the open top.
Not the smartest of creatures.

?

Good deed for the day. I
love bumble bees, something strangely cute about them
(unlike wasps - shudder).

Wasps are far more intelligent (in our terms) than any kind of bee ...

Usually when bumble bees are what humans call dopey it's because they're
chilled and/or hungry.

The best way to warm one is to cup your hands together with the bee inside
then gently blow warm air into the cavity. After a minute or so she'll start
to tremble, then you can open your hands and she'll fly off - unless she's
hungry. It's a good idea to prepare for this before you hold her (she's not
going to fly away) by preparing a solution of sugar in warm water. You need
no more than an eighth of a teaspoon. Put it on the end of your finger and
she'll find it as she moves from your palm. You'll be able to see her long
tongue 'pump' up the solution. It's not pumping but it looks like it. When
she's had enough she'll clean her tongue and antennae and fly off.

That WILL be a good deed!

Oh - by the way, she might well get into a defensive position when you pick
her up by lifting a middle leg to fend you off but she won't sting.

Mary
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...

Wasps are bovver boys while bees give every appearance of being rather
benevolent and not looking for trouble. I am convinced that wasps *like*
annoying people, spoiling their al fresco suppers etc. ;-)

Not true.

One of the best ways to catch bees is a match box. Empty it, slide it
open
and turning it upside down, put it over the bee. Slowly slide it shut,
take
it outside, open it. Bingo. I hope!

And possibly damage the bee.


Bees / bumble bees all seem to be far more interested in
flowers than me, but wasps on the other hand are "hoodie"
bees - just hanging around looking for trouble.

They're not. Until the later part of the year you'll hardly be aware of them
yet there are more around then when you do see them.

I don't know if there are different varieties of bumble
bees

There are.

but the one I rescued would have pretty well filled a
standard sized match box, it was huge.

It will have been a queen.

The loud hum it was
making was also impressive - like some noisy electrical
equipment.

Yes, we say they're teddy bears on motor bikes.

I have a pathological fear of wasps. As a child playing in
some bushes the ground beneath my feet gave way demolishing
the home of a substantial number of wasps - I didn't know
the nest wast there but the wasps sure made a thing of it -
I was stung head to toe - probably around 50 or more
stings. They were all over me and chased me a good 100
yards while I was trying to beat them off my clothes with a
stick. Since then wasps hold a certain dread for me.

But it's not rational - you know that the worst violence to Man is performed
by other people yet I bet you'll happily walk around in crowded places ...

You were the irrational one, you can't beat off wasps with a stick. And as
for attacking you, well every animal defnds it's home and it's young, you
would too. If you only got about 50 stings you were lucky. And you survived
so ...

shrug

I've had far more honey bee stings at one time than that and I had a general
reaction which needed adrenalin to save my life - but I'm not afraid of any
stinging insect.

I don't warm to slugs and they do me no harm at all.

Mary
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

On 26/2/08 12:32, in article ,
"Mary Fisher" wrote:


"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...

Wasps are bovver boys while bees give every appearance of being rather
benevolent and not looking for trouble. I am convinced that wasps *like*
annoying people, spoiling their al fresco suppers etc. ;-)

Not true.

It was a jokey observation.

One of the best ways to catch bees is a match box. Empty it, slide it
open
and turning it upside down, put it over the bee. Slowly slide it shut,
take
it outside, open it. Bingo. I hope!

And possibly damage the bee.

As I was shown this by a very expert bee-keeper of many years standing, I'm
inclined to trust his knowledge.
snip

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Mary Fisher says...
The loud hum it was
making was also impressive - like some noisy electrical
equipment.

Yes, we say they're teddy bears on motor bikes.

I like your description, it seems to sum bumble bees up
nicely :-)

But it's not rational

I know it is irrational but I can live with it :-) I leave
wasps alone unless they come in the house, then it is
swatter or insect spray at the ready. The Mrs is worse than
me, at least my phobia is limited to wasps, she completely
freaks out if anything looking vaguely like a bee or wasp
goes anywhere near her. God help anyone in the vicinity if
she has a cup of tea in her hand at the time - it can land
anywhere!

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

Mary Fisher says...
The best way to warm one is to cup your hands together with the bee inside
then gently blow warm air into the cavity. After a minute or so she'll start
to tremble, then you can open your hands and she'll fly off - unless she's
hungry. It's a good idea to prepare for this before you hold her (she's not
going to fly away) by preparing a solution of sugar in warm water. You need
no more than an eighth of a teaspoon. Put it on the end of your finger and
she'll find it as she moves from your palm. You'll be able to see her long
tongue 'pump' up the solution. It's not pumping but it looks like it. When
she's had enough she'll clean her tongue and antennae and fly off.

That WILL be a good deed!

Oh - by the way, she might well get into a defensive position when you pick
her up by lifting a middle leg to fend you off but she won't sting.

Do you promise it won't sting? While I have some affection
for bumble bees it is also mixed with a certain
apprehension - especially the thought of cupping one
between my hands.

Spiders are not a problem, but then they never seem to
inflict any bites, so I always cup those between my hands
and take them outside. It feels a bit tickly though while
they run round and round inside my cupped hands.
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

... she won't sting.

Do you promise it won't sting? While I have some affection
for bumble bees it is also mixed with a certain
apprehension - especially the thought of cupping one
between my hands.

I promise. If you're stung by a bumble bee you deserve it - it takes a lot
of pressure to make her use her sting.

Spiders are not a problem, but then they never seem to
inflict any bites, so I always cup those between my hands
and take them outside. It feels a bit tickly though while
they run round and round inside my cupped hands.

A bumble bee won't do that if she's chilled.

Our spiders don't bite, I'm told. I don't know for certain but I've never
been bitten by one and I've handled many.

The first time a bumble bee begins to tremble in your hands it can be a bit
unnerving, you have to resist the temptation to part your hands and drop
her. but you're a man, you can doi it! You're a LOT bigger than she is :-)

Mary

On Feb 26, 12:52 pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Mary Fisher says...

The best way to warm one is to cup your hands together with the bee inside
then gently blow warm air into the cavity. After a minute or so she'll start
to tremble, then you can open your hands and she'll fly off - unless she's
hungry. It's a good idea to prepare for this before you hold her (she's not
going to fly away) by preparing a solution of sugar in warm water. You need
no more than an eighth of a teaspoon. Put it on the end of your finger and
she'll find it as she moves from your palm. You'll be able to see her long
tongue 'pump' up the solution. It's not pumping but it looks like it. When
she's had enough she'll clean her tongue and antennae and fly off.

That WILL be a good deed!

Oh - by the way, she might well get into a defensive position when you pick
her up by lifting a middle leg to fend you off but she won't sting.

Do you promise it won't sting? While I have some affection
for bumble bees it is also mixed with a certain
apprehension - especially the thought of cupping one
between my hands.

Spiders are not a problem, but then they never seem to
inflict any bites, so I always cup those between my hands
and take them outside. It feels a bit tickly though while
they run round and round inside my cupped hands.
--

The very delicate very very long legged spiders (Pholcus phalagioides)
do not bite
but the big hairy scuttling ones can pierce human skin. These are the
really big ones that you get stuck in bath tubs (Tegenaria species)
that people thought came up the plug hole but didn't. They can bite
and cause a reaction (swelling and pain) so I am wary of them although
I have hardly seen any for 4 or 5 years. It is as if they have been
replaced by Pholcus which used only be found along the south coast of
Ireland and UK in these here parts.

Des




David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

On 27/2/08 12:03, in article
, "Des
Higgins" wrote:
snip
--

The very delicate very very long legged spiders (Pholcus phalagioides)
do not bite
but the big hairy scuttling ones can pierce human skin. These are the
really big ones that you get stuck in bath tubs (Tegenaria species)
that people thought came up the plug hole but didn't. They can bite
and cause a reaction (swelling and pain) so I am wary of them although
I have hardly seen any for 4 or 5 years. It is as if they have been
replaced by Pholcus which used only be found along the south coast of
Ireland and UK in these here parts.


The majority of the spiders we get in the house are those tiny pin-bodied,
long legged ones. The hairy monsters do exist but like you, we see fewer of
them. I just know I'm going to regret saying that! When we were having the
house re-wired some years ago, the electrician withdraw his head from the
floorboards looking very white one day and said "they're breeding with
lobsters down there!". We get a lot of Hunter spiders in the garden and on
e.g. Window panes. But a year or two ago, we had some quite tiny spider in
the bed! It gave me a nip which didn't do much more than itch a bit but I
certainly felt it. And most of the neighbourhood probably heard my reaction
to finding it!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On Feb 27, 12:33 pm, Sacha wrote:
On 27/2/08 12:03, in article
, "DesHiggins" wrote:

snip

--

The very delicate very very long legged spiders (Pholcus phalagioides)
do not bite
but the big hairy scuttling ones can pierce human skin. These are the
really big ones that you get stuck in bath tubs (Tegenaria species)
that people thought came up the plug hole but didn't. They can bite
and cause a reaction (swelling and pain) so I am wary of them although
I have hardly seen any for 4 or 5 years. It is as if they have been
replaced by Pholcus which used only be found along the south coast of
Ireland and UK in these here parts.

The majority of the spiders we get in the house are those tiny pin-bodied,
long legged ones. The hairy monsters do exist but like you, we see fewer of
them. I just know I'm going to regret saying that! When we were having the
house re-wired some years ago, the electrician withdraw his head from the
floorboards looking very white one day and said "they're breeding with
lobsters down there!".

Some days, I am glad not to be a plumber or electrician.

We get a lot of Hunter spiders in the garden and on
e.g. Window panes. But a year or two ago, we had some quite tiny spider in
the bed! It gave me a nip which didn't do much more than itch a bit but I
certainly felt it. And most of the neighbourhood probably heard my reaction
to finding it!
--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 27/2/08 13:31, in article
, "Des
Higgins" wrote:

On Feb 27, 12:33 pm, Sacha wrote:
snip
When we were having the
house re-wired some years ago, the electrician withdraw his head from the
floorboards looking very white one day and said "they're breeding with
lobsters down there!".

Some days, I am glad not to be a plumber or electrician.


That was certainly his day for wishing he wasn't!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

"Des Higgins" wrote in message
news:0724a3f2-2388-40bc-
....

--

The very delicate very very long legged spiders (Pholcus phalagioides)
do not bite
but the big hairy scuttling ones can pierce human skin. These are the
really big ones that you get stuck in bath tubs (Tegenaria species)
that people thought came up the plug hole but didn't. They can bite
and cause a reaction (swelling and pain) so I am wary of them although
I have hardly seen any for 4 or 5 years. It is as if they have been
replaced by Pholcus which used only be found along the south coast of
Ireland and UK in these here parts.

Where is 'these here parts'?

I'd like to know more about spiders but it's such a huge subject, I doubt
I've enough time left :-)

Mary

On 27 Feb, 14:00, Sacha wrote:
On 27/2/08 13:31, in article
, "Des



Higgins" wrote:
On Feb 27, 12:33 pm, Sacha wrote:
snip
When we were having the
house re-wired some years ago, the electrician withdraw his head from the
floorboards looking very white one day and said "they're breeding with
lobsters down there!".

Some days, I am glad not to be a plumber or electrician.

That was certainly his day for wishing he wasn't!

--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Many years ago now I was done over by bees,
I was rotovating with a treactor mounted rotovator and went about 3 ft
from 4 hives, they didn't like it one bit.
The Drt took around 40 stings from my head, and next day I was back at
work, feeling a little battered, For some reason they went for my head
but not my face,
My own fault.
A few weeks later I was rotovating outside the estate wall when a
swarm came over the wall and went passed me only aboyt 6 ft away. I
didn't stop shaking for almost half an hour.
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries

"Dave Hill" wrote in message
...
--

Many years ago now I was done over by bees,
I was rotovating with a treactor mounted rotovator and went about 3 ft
from 4 hives, they didn't like it one bit.

They are threatened by vibration.

The Drt took around 40 stings from my head, and next day I was back at
work, feeling a little battered, For some reason they went for my head
but not my face,
My own fault.

A few weeks later I was rotovating outside the estate wall when a
swarm came over the wall and went passed me only aboyt 6 ft away. I
didn't stop shaking for almost half an hour.

Swarming bees aren't in defensive mode, they have no brood or 'home' to
defend and are so full of honey that it's difficult for them to curl their
tails round to sting. If you see a swarm just stand still and marvel at the
sight and noise.

The pictures of 'bee beards' which abound use bees in swarming mode.

Mary

On Feb 27, 2:19 pm, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

news:0724a3f2-2388-40bc-
...

--

The very delicate very very long legged spiders (Pholcus phalagioides)
do not bite
but the big hairy scuttling ones can pierce human skin. These are the
really big ones that you get stuck in bath tubs (Tegenaria species)
that people thought came up the plug hole but didn't. They can bite
and cause a reaction (swelling and pain) so I am wary of them although
I have hardly seen any for 4 or 5 years. It is as if they have been
replaced by Pholcus which used only be found along the south coast of
Ireland and UK in these here parts.

Where is 'these here parts'?


Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and smaller bits.


I'd like to know more about spiders but it's such a huge subject, I doubt
I've enough time left :-)

Mary

On Feb 27, 2:19 pm, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Des Higgins" wrote in message

news:0724a3f2-2388-40bc-
...

--

The very delicate very very long legged spiders (Pholcus phalagioides)
do not bite
but the big hairy scuttling ones can pierce human skin. These are the
really big ones that you get stuck in bath tubs (Tegenaria species)
that people thought came up the plug hole but didn't. They can bite
and cause a reaction (swelling and pain) so I am wary of them although
I have hardly seen any for 4 or 5 years. It is as if they have been
replaced by Pholcus which used only be found along the south coast of
Ireland and UK in these here parts.

Where is 'these here parts'?

I'd like to know more about spiders but it's such a huge subject, I doubt
I've enough time left :-)

Mary

This is from a spider web site:

"The World of Spiders. by W.M. Bristow.
Published by Collins in their New Naturalist series this book is now
sadly out of print, but can be obtained from most public libraries.
This is the best general account of British spiders written to date.
Each of its chapters looks at a particular family of spiders dealing
with their biology and natural history plus much anecdotal
information. "

It is a fantastic introduction to general spiders in UK and what they
do. I read it when I was about 15, in the 70s.