Sunday, July 10, 2016

Code Bee







Out of all the BIPS (Bugs in Peril) I find, the humble bumbles, a.k.a. flying teddy bears, make up a hefty percentage. They just seem to run out of steam, in the most unbumble friendly locations...you know... in driveways and in the middle of footpaths. Good grief. And I thought I needed a minder.






I found one in the driveway recently, so I carted the docile fellow into my kitchen for resus. That's not him posing for this photo shoot, btw. There was no time for such indulgences. Things were dire. He wasn't very lively. I wasn't very hopeful that he would ever be lively again. 






It's remarkable what a little sugar can do. I dissolved some sweet stuff in water in a spoon, and bumble got stuck right in. They're so cute, aren't they, with their little built-in straws. In no time at all, he was all sugared up and rearing to go. I could feel the dramatic change in his energy levels vibrating through my hand. He went from a flat line to full throttle in a matter of seconds. Talk about a sugar buzz. 






Only problem was that he got it into his dear little head that the next task on his to do list was to fly up my sleeve. I did say, politely, "No, Mr Bumble! The flowers are not up there!" but he kept trying to burrow his way under my polar fleece regardless.






I think he may have had a little too much sugar... We've all been there... I confess I got a little panicky because I could see that having a bumble bee speeding towards ones elbow might not end well. 






After a stern word or two, I did manage to persuade him to take a moment to reassess his flight plan from the comfort of a small aesthetically pleasing rock, nestled amongst the nasturtiums. Phew. 






As much as I would've liked to have fetched my camera for a recovery picky, I decided it was imperative that my sleeves and I retreat back indoors, just in case he took off in our direction.






The moral of the story? Even bumbles need to watch their sugar intake. And when reviving bees, roll up those sleeves. As if I needed to say that out loud...






Sunday, July 3, 2016

And we're back...

Yes, well, been a while hasn't it. I didn't deliberately abandon my blog, just so you know, my disappearance was the result of an internet connectivity issue. First my computer decided to no longer let me post anything on here (unsupported browser issue, on account of the unsupported operating system issue, on account of the old clunker of a computer issue) and then it wouldn't even let me access the internet. I did try and post from a library, but couldn't get into my account. Tricky. Then I had no flat to live in either and things have been a little topsy turvy since.

Anyhoo, the important thing is that I have just discovered that blogger has a cell phone app, so here I am, again, to continue my obsession with bugs! Yay! Rest assured that I have been busy collecting photos of adorable bugs in the hope that I would get back online again to share them with other insect admirers so expect an avalanche of pictures in the months to follow. Have a few films to woo you with too, including sticks insects in motion.  Memorable stuff.