In the "you learn something new every day" file...
So I was walking back from lunch today and almost stepped on a dead bumblebee lying on the brick. (You know, one of those really fat, really fuzzy big bees?) And I've been noticing a lot of them around my yard and garden lately. Always buzzing around by the grass and not the flowers, which seemed weird, because clearly we mow our lawn often enough that the grass is not flowering and yes, we have lots of flowering weeds in the grass, but those get chopped down in the mowing too.
Anyhoo. Bumblebees. Lots of 'em lately. So I looked them up and discovered that unlike regular honeybees, they tend to live in the ground or leaf piles or... anywhere but hives? And they like to use old abandoned mouse or mole holes in the ground. (And god know, we have tons of those, in addition to a virtual condo of chipmunk holes, and yes, isn't it great to live in the boondocks? ;)) So apparently that may be why I keep seeing them hovering over the grass. Huh.
(I also discovered everyone but the queen dies each year. Double huh.)
And now, even though I just interlibrary requested a bunch of fluffy YA books, I must need to go find a book on bees because I'm supremely curious now. :)
Anyhoo. Bumblebees. Lots of 'em lately. So I looked them up and discovered that unlike regular honeybees, they tend to live in the ground or leaf piles or... anywhere but hives? And they like to use old abandoned mouse or mole holes in the ground. (And god know, we have tons of those, in addition to a virtual condo of chipmunk holes, and yes, isn't it great to live in the boondocks? ;)) So apparently that may be why I keep seeing them hovering over the grass. Huh.
(I also discovered everyone but the queen dies each year. Double huh.)
And now, even though I just interlibrary requested a bunch of fluffy YA books, I must need to go find a book on bees because I'm supremely curious now. :)