What's Buzzin' or Flying Near You Today..? MK 3..

Not much buzzing now really:



In the second pic, has he got ticks or something?

 

It's a girl and maybe she's wearing a string of beads or storing bags of pollen around her neck?
@Spruce will be able to tell us I expect,
Jenny

 

I wonder what they are.... I like your magnification kit n Frost...

 

Funny looking aren't they? I used screenshot and MS paint to magnify!

 

What's MS please?

 

Sorry, shorthand for Microsoft.

 

Sadly it looks like they could be ticks.

 

Hi Jens

They do no harm

In early spring, queen bumble bees are often seen with large numbers of mites (Parasitellus fucorum). These mites live on the queen when she hibernates over winter and stay with her until she founds her new nest in spring. Here they scavenge on food debris, bee faeces and possibly stored pollen. Some mites drop off the queen when she is foraging on a flower to wait for another bumble bee to hitch a ride to a nest. The mite does not actually feed on the bee itself, and so apart from the extra load carried by the bee, it does no harm.

If ? you do want to get rid from the bumble bee (if you smoke ) blast a couple of puffs on to the bee and they quickly dislodge themselves and scarper off, or another method dip the bee in water the mites will also quickly come off and put the bee in a sunny dry spot to dry off, but to be honest just leave them bee is best.

Spruce

 

Thank you for that reassurance Spruce. Mother Nature is truly wonderful and has her own ways of management of her species,
Jenny

 

Whilst pottering today spotted these tinkers on the Lillies that are dying back

 

no doubt they've been "makin' whoopee" in the location Loli,