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I had a huge queen bumblebee in the kitchen window last week, buzzing away, it had it's back up against the kitchen window as if it was pushing it to get it open. Lovely it was, they are the best creatures in the garden if you ask me.

So as I did not take a picture of it I Googled it and found the link I have posted here, looked just like it.

They're one of my favorites too... especially at this time of year when all the large queens are about...we've got a large heather in the garden, and there were dozens of them in it yesterday.

Best creatures in our garden are the Marsu, aka Marsvin, aka Cavy

Weather is now right for them to resume residence in their "summer" holiday accommodation blocks...just a few permanent indoor residents left - them that are a little old to be outside 24/7 & them that cannot be allowed outside due to their breed, i.e. skinny and/or werewolf, they don't like the sun & are too easily sunburned...

Sorry to go a bit off topic, but this is a photo of a hawk moth in the gardens of a hotel in Egypt last year - they hover like a hummingbird ...the photo doesn't do them justice...

Black and yellow bumble bees - NICE!

Even have music named after them....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6A-JYbu1Os

Dougan wrote:Sorry to go a bit off topic, but this is a photo of a hawk moth in the gardens of a hotel in Egypt last year - they hover like a hummingbird ...the photo doesn't do them justice...

moth.jpg

Dougan, we have the hummingbird type moths here as well, lovely to watch.

Blu

Lovely stuff, thank you.

Having said that, today, while having some shoting fine time at the range, I killed my first mosquito this year. Nothing kuddly about them, the freaking millions of them, that going invade us soon... not that I enjoed it (the killing) as much as reading the blog antry. Horrible messy stuff, luckily I killed it in mid air, no chance of smashing his bellyfull of my own blood.

Tomorrow I am going to visit my dad and his small gathering of honey bees families (what is the English collective n. for a family of bees, by the way?), I will enjoy the sight of them being busy, doing their early spring work :-).

Loving bees,

PS. The hummingbird moths! A few years ago I saw a flying monster on about my balcony, I called the wifey, was about to call the journos, and the police , really believing it was a real humminbird, so huge (notice, the adjective used for a hummingbird) it appeared to us. We were watching the visitor in amasement untill it decided to flew away, apparently filled up with the nectar from our flowers.

I bet the honey is lovely.

anpol wrote:Horrible messy stuff, luckily I killed it in mid air, no chance of smashing his bellyfull of my own blood.

No chance of that anyway - only the females bite :-)

anpol wrote:Tomorrow I am going to visit my dad and his small gathering of honey bees families (what is the English collective n. for a family of bees, by the way?)

A swarm? Doesn't sound too friendly, though, and bees already have enough PR problems. Perhaps we should call them a flock, instead.

FencepostError wrote:

anpol wrote:Horrible messy stuff, luckily I killed it in mid air, no chance of smashing his bellyfull of my own blood.

No chance of that anyway - only the females bite :-)

Rightly you say! T'was she, I meant 'her', but that's all i am consending to say. It is enough all the destructive swirling wind things are given female names. In our human race they are the better half (excepting the obvious bitches) :-).

FencepostError wrote:

anpol wrote:Tomorrow I am going to visit my dad and his small gathering of honey bees families (what is the English collective n. for a family of bees, by the way?)

A swarm? Doesn't sound too friendly, though, and bees already have enough PR problems. Perhaps we should call them a flock, instead.

A swarm of bee families then, a flock of families maybe? I hope the matter is not settled...

Cheers