I love bees. They are magical little creatures. We literally couldn’t live with out them and all their help π I’ve recently taken to rescuing any bees that are on the floor, looking rather sorry for themselves! I nearly squished one that was drunk on pollen… he was in a perfect position on the path to get splattered. Finding a crumpled train ticket lying on the floor, I scooped him up. I named him Babitty Bumble (inspired by one of Beatrix Potter’s characters :D)

Babbity arrives at WellBEEing hospital…
I follow quite a few pages on facebook about bees, and read that you can help the bees with dissolved sugar in water (mixed will a little blob of honey – pure magic!). Β Now Babitty was definitely struggling, so I turned our kitchen into a makeshift ‘WellBEEing Hospital’ (Stew came up with the name π I love it!) I popped him in a little tupperware tub and set him on a kitchen towel that was covered in the sugar water. Β There were no signs of life in the beginning…
I kept nipping outside to check on him, then thought I’ll add a little bit of honey to the water to see what happens… Well…woosh! out came his very licky tongue yum yum yum. Β You can see him in action in this video I took of him.

After this drink of honey and sugar – I’m pleased to say that by the morning Babbity had buzzed off! π
Unfortunately, I’ve found Burt the bee today in the parsnip patch. I’m afraid I think I’m a bit too late to help him π¦ I’ll try and save as many as I can but you can’t save them all, sadly.
Keep your eyes peeled for these little buzzy bumbles, you just never know if you can help them to get a second wind π
Nurse Lottie Land Girl Kaz xx
What a lovely post and I really think this calls for a little (children’s) book with illustrations! ! Anita xo
Ooohh I know π there’s some ideas in the pipeline π xx
Good work! What a lovely thing to do. It’s actually best to just do a paste of sugar and water though, as the problem with including honey can be that this can spread microscopic diseases contained in the honey (these are only potentially a problem for bees, not humans).
See this Bumblebee Conservation Trust fact sheet which says “If you find a stranded or sleepy bumblebee you can help to boost her energy levels with a simple sugar-water mix. Mix equal parts white sugar and warm water then pour into a small container or sponge. Place both the bee and the artificial nectar near to some flowers.” – http://bumblebeeconservation.org/images/uploads/Resources/BBCT_Bumblebee_Factsheet.pdf
Thanks for your help Emily π that’s brilliant! I’ll have a good look at the link. I really appreciate your advice π
No worries, happy bee saving π
Ahh, Gotta love and look after Bees. Keep up the good work.
Thanks π I’m going to be really on the ball next year I hope we have a great summer like this year! π x
Fantastic shots! Do you have a macro lens?
The bumblebees have been amazing to watch this summer. I’ve heard about the sugar water, but yet to try it out on the bees that have run out of battery down the plot.
Emma x π
Hi Emma yes I’ve hot a macro lens for my iPhone! You can be as close as 1.5cm to the subject π I’m still getting use to it π x
Excellent! Takes some lovely shots. One for the birthday list πx
Amazing photographs.
Thanks, I’ve taken them all on my iPhone with a little macro lens π
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