Reviving a Drowning Bee [Video] — Learning the Do’s and Don’ts

Teach your children that whenever a mosquito bites them or a fly lands on their food, they are only trying to feed and survive. This is the natural order of things in Life. There is nothing personal about it and there is no reason to freak out or to curse the insects.

After Encounter With a Drowning Fruit Fly, I was once again taking a dip when I found a drowning bee right in the middle of the pool. Now I have resuscitated a fruit fly and have repeatedly interacted with ants, but this was a first with bees.

A while ago I came across a couple of articles about how to help a tired bee. I remember the spoon with sugary water. So when I found a tired bee recently, also by the pool, I ran to my room and got a spoon of honey and water. Though fortunately for the flying insect, by the time I was back down it was already gone.

With yesterday’
s drowning bee I tried my luck again. After carrying it on my palm outside the water and putting it by the border of the pool, I rushed to get that energy spoon — and the camera. This time, it was still there when I was back as it still looked worn out.

I came closer with the honeyed water. It took about a few seconds to get it to drink. However, it didn’t indulge as I thought it would. I tried multiple times but it actually kept getting away from the spoon containing the solution.

After 15 minutes of careful watching and filming, the bee wasn’
t flying yet. Maybe it had been struggling in the pool for hours. This got me thinking and I was determined to help out till the very end.

I quickly Googled the topic and skimmed through an interesting article called Found a Bee?. Apparently sugary water means white sugar mixed with water — ratio of sugar to water should be about 1:2; no artificial or diet sweeteners or demerera sugar.

Also, “Do not be tempted to give them honey.” The reason is that it could contain traces of viruses that may be passed on to the wild bees. Bees should only consume their very own honey and not the one we humans buy, even if it is organic.

Oh shoot! Have I ruined the whole rescue, I wondered. 

Trying to fix the unintentional mishap, I once again ran to the room with the spoon, added raw brown sugar to the water — since I have no white — and back to Jerry Seinfeld, who according to the article is probably a bumblebee; though he could also be a honey bee or even a solitary bee.

You can hear me encourage it with a  “Come on”

As you can see in the video I offered it some of the sugared water. It drank a little but then again it tried to avoid the spoon, and I didn’
t force it. Perhaps it has had enough by then.

As I learned, whenever feeding a tired bee one needs to keep it on the same level with the spoon or a bottle cap without having it fall into them because it can drown. Another reason why not to add more water than the recommended ratio to the sweet solution.

Ideally, bees should be released the same day. In case it is still tired or it is nighttime, if it’s possible, it is advised to keep it indoors in a small box or container (with holes) then release it in the early morning.

I eventually used a piece of paper to try and push it onto the spoon. The moment I did that, the bee took off and flew away all salubriously. Beeautiful ending!


Sometimes all we need to get back up is a little push from someone who cares. 

ALSO VIEW:

Encounter With a Drowning Fruit Fly

Why Ants Carry Their Dead and Other Fascinating Facts

Ants Carry Other Live Ones As Means of Transportation: Further Evidence That They Must Be Communicating [Video]

Guiding Ants Out Of The Kitchen...Alive