Royal visit.

Great to see them about isn't it.

Well done Mouldy :o)

I love the wee things, Surrey & can only remind folk, who are hellbent on killing them that the bees have done more to keep the human race alive by going about their business, than we humans have done!
20,000,000yrs they've been around & we've almost eradicated them in a blink of time's eye...it beggers belief, doesn't it?
Off the soapbox, old son.
(Note to self...stop preaching to the converted!) Lol.
Aw, shucks...just doin' ma job, Ma-am.
Thanks, though, Terra.
They stay overnight, sometimes, which is why I have the empty matchbox.
We have a history, of sorts. Lol.

Excellent, Mouldy ..

For sleepy bees ..
... you run a BEE and BEE ? ;o)

Lol, Terra.
And a waspital, too. :-)

One of these emerged from a crack in my front path earlier this week, could it be sharing a nest with ants? It is lovely to see the insects enjoying the sunshine in the garden again, it has been such a long winter!

Brilliant, getting lots of bees in the garden at the moment, hope they keep coming, glad you had a royal visitor Mouldy at your B and B :O))))))

Well ants 'milk' aphids. Maybe they've struck a deal with the bees, Xela? ;-)
Yeah, I presented the bill & she felt she'd been stung, Olive. :-D

I try to attract any form of insects in my garden. The experts say that without bees the human race would be extinct within 4 years.

lol :O)

I can well believe it, Rogi, as they're the planet's main pollenators.
No crops...amimals die. No steaks, bacon, etc.
No crops...humans die. No meat, fruit, veg, cereals, pulses, nuts, seeds, grains, etc.
Pretty grim, eh?:
We'd go down fighting, probably over the last lettuce leaf. Lol.

........and our Minister for the Environment voted against the non-use of the pesticides they think may be one of the reasons why bees are dying.

Fortunately our European allies (!) voted for non-use and that particular pesticide is being banned for two years to see what happens. A sensible decision.

On a less serious note................

I recall saving a garden bee that had fallen into a puddle. I placed it carefully on my window sill and checked it every now and again. It seemed to be recovering well so I left it alone, and forgot it, though I mentioned my kindness once or twice to the family!!

The next morning I slipped on my bedroom slippers and was stung by the bee which had crawled into one of them overnight. :O(

I have a pesticide licence, Eirlys.
I'm licenced to store, carry & use herbicides, fungicides & insecticides.
Nobody can say for sure what the long term effect of these chemicals are, which is why I'm supposed to carry the licence, along with a detailed list of every chemical I've ever used, where, when, etc, for the rest of my life!
We're legally obliged to inform local councils, schools & beekeepers, etc, each & every time we're spraying or dabbing, so precautions can be taken.
What's reasonable, when really long term outcomes are only guessed at & nobody can say for sure?
Then we have to take into account unscrupulous/unlicenced/ignorant operators...who can say with hand on heart that they're certain of the effects of these chemicals 50 or 100yrs down the line?
Me, I've seen what they can do to their intended targets.
Lethal, there's no other word for it!
The stuff you can buy in the shops has been watered down by as much as 400%!!!
I'm glad the Minister for Eejits was over-ruled, I really am.
Personally, well, you can probably guess what I'd like to do to that irresponsible halfwit & I'd don my chemical suit first!
The 1st rule, don't use chemicals, unless it's unavoidable.
Heaven help me, I've turned into a grumpy old man.
How did that happen? LOL!

It must have smelled the 'scent' of you, Eirlys. ;-)

Good to see you pulled out all the stops for your royal visit! lol :-)))

Glad to hear that you saved Her Majesty, Mouldy. A previous post recounted how one GOYer had revived a drooping bee with a sugar boost. I can't recall exactly but she soaked something - a bit of foam from a pan-scrub, maybe? - in a sugar solution which she placed next the bee. Apologies for forgetting who originally sent in this tip!

Hi Lijemc, great to hear from you again!!!
Owz tings wit chew, homey. ;-)
I tried diluted honey, Tuesdaybear, but she didn't appear that interested.
I'll give the sugar a try next time.
Hmmm, 'Silver Spoon' brand, I think. Lol.

Gee is the member who rescued the bee, I'm not brave enough to have done that myself but would never hurt any, the sunshine has encouraged them here and I've seen a few on the flowers this week, a colourful butterfly was spotted yesterday but didn't get the camera quickly enough to get a pic and 4 cabbage whites today, don't really want them, no ladybirds though.......
Do you have a Victor Meldrew cap Mouldy? I think its compulsory.......LOL..

Lol, Lincs.
We call them bunnets (Not to be mistaken with the lady's version...bonnets) up here.
Sadly, they don't suit me with my curly hair.
I DON'T believe it! &:-)

Mouldy to the rescue!! I had one flying around the kitchen today - I had to get it out before the cats saw it and wrecked the kitchen in a bid to get hold of it!

That was a nice little story Mouldy.

I chuckled at the end!

:-)

I had a dog, when I was 15, that would go absolutely berserk at flies, so I'd open the kitchen window, let him in the kitchen & close the door after him, go outside & drag the bin directly under the window, then wait for absolute pandemonium to break out.
He was medium sized & jumping up on the worktops was no problem for him, where he'd learned he could launch himself even higher to reach the flies around the light bulb!
That's why mum had barred him from the kitchen.
Him barking & whining, if a fly escaped, kettle, teapot, cups, breadbin, everything, knocked helter-skelter in his mad efforts, mum shouting at him to behave & for me to come & get my crazy dog out of her kitchen & sisters & brothers shouting, clapping & screaming in tones of admonishment, encouragement or excited delight, as he performed some death-defying feat to catch yet another flying enemy between his snapping jaws.
Their noise would drive him into an even greater frenzy!
Never known an animal with such bitter hatred of flies.
Naturally, I was careful to ensure mum never found out I was instigating this bedlam, so eked out these treats of joy & entertainment, because you can have too much of a good thing, can't you? LOL.

Thanks, Tuesdaybear & Wildrose. :-)

Your story made me smile Mouldy - our childhood dog hated my brother - he genuinely never did anything to him but each time the dog ran after him, mum would give him a clout for annoying the dog!! Funny to say the least when you're the big sister :)

Lol, Scottish!
Yeah, being the eldest had it's advantages, but blame for setting a bad example, along with a skelp, came with the territory, too, when they got old enough to dream up their own capers!
"See what you've started?" was one of mum's well-worn phrases. Lol.

Great story Mouldy!
If I get an exhausted bee I put a tiny amount of honey on my fingertip and present it to the bee, it usually unrolls its proboscis and sucks it up gratefully - within about five minutes it is strong enough to fly away. My good deed for the day!

It's at those moments you feel that you're part of a great plan & another piece has just fallen into place exactly as it was supposed to do, I find, Steragram! Lol.

That's lovely! We have only seen the odd one so far. They absolutely adore the cotoneaster when it is in flower. it is like a hive...the noise is quite amazing. I was listening to radio 4 on the way home from Glamis today and the discussion about the 'Neo-Nics' was very enlightening. It seems that DEFRA is run by a lot of stupid people!

Bring back MAFFI...at least they were implementing a policy of banning 500 chemicals a year!

Thanks Lincslass for reminding me that it was Gee with the sugar. We've actually had quite a few bees about over this last week, tho' still probably fewer than usual. Am excited now as have just bought a cotoneaster today - and at a bargain price too - and didn't know that they are beloved of bees. Excellent news! As for the dog and the flies, Mouldy, one of our cats performs similar feats, tho' usually outside. He's 10 now but still thinks he's a kitten when it comes to acrobatics of any sort and especially at this time of year when he develops a sort of Spring Fever. It can be highly entertaining but unfortunately his taste runs to butterflies too, which is less diverting.

The other day I found a bee on a paving stone in the garden, looking pretty much all in. I remembered hearing that honey revives bees, so I dashed off to the pantry and got my honey (in a squeezy jar). Well, I thought I would put a tiny drop beside the bee and see what it did. So I gently squeezed the bottle - or so I thought. The honey shot out of the bottle and catapulted the bee across the paving stone. Oh dear! I felt terrible. Anyway, a few minutes later, the bee flew away - probably extremely apprehensive as to what might happen next. I expect that'll be the last time it'll choose my garden as a place to stop for a break!

Lol, Tuesdaybear & Melchisedec!

Buzzing around here too. Hope they find lots of crevices in the dry stone walls.

Terra, thanks for the advice!
It wasn't the exclamation mark, though.
I'd accidently deleted the 'g' from j-peg!
DOH!