bumblebees
Rick & LeAnn Kelley
rkelley at blazingisp.net
Mon Jan 24 20:53:01 UTC 2005
Hello,
I live on a farm in the US Midwest, and here our bumblebees are anything but
"humble". Groups of them make nests in the ground or in out-of-the-way
spaces in outbuildings, and if one happens to inadvertently threaten their
territory a few painful stings will be the result. My daughter received
several stings when she unknowingly ran a lawnmower over a ground nest.
Several of us were stung while putting hay into the barnloft. Bumblebees
had made a nest in the hay left from the previous year, and someone stacked
a hay bale on top of their nest causing several of them to fly out and
attack everyone in sight. As long as they or their nests aren't physically
threatened they seem willing to live and let live. They are invaluable to
us as pollinators since a mite has wiped out most of our honeybee
populations. There is another large bee which we call a "wood bee". It
does not sting, but it damages wood structures by boring large holes into
rafters. Some people also mistakenly refer to wasps, mud daubers and
hornets as bees, but they are completely different critters altogether.
I think Dumbledore's nature fits that of the bumblebees in this area. He is
powerful, protects those around him, and does good things. But once he or
his friends are threatened, he can certainly sting.
Swizzlewand
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