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about bumblebees please

10 years ago

I live in the south and we have a large type of bumblebee maybe a carpenterbee, that appers to be attracted to people! My bees will scatter when no one is around but as soon as I go on the patio bees appear. I even have names for 2 of them: Aunt Bea and Opie. And it is almost as if they come when I call. Buzz right up at eye level and hover! Are they attracted to voice vibrations? Anyway, please don"t call the white coats on me. I love these little guys!

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Comments (5)

larry_gene
10 years ago
I have read that cicadas may be attracted to certain human voices, but I have not read that about bees or flies.

See if your insects behave the same if you don't speak.

Bumble bees would repeatedly circle a person, not hover.

Take a picture sometime and show us.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
I'd be willing to bet money that they are male Carpenter bees. Care to sit out on my patio with me? We'll have the company of the bees. They will swoop right up you and hover, as if saying, "You wanna piece a me? " You can nudge them away with your hand and they'll zoom back to stare at you. VERY comical.

This is male CB behavior, defending his territory. CBs around a residence is a warning for you to investigate your home for tell tale round holes that the females drill in wood in order to lay their eggs. Check the eaves, soffits, wooden siding, any wooden structure. If there are a lot of the bees drilling many holes, they can cause problems.

The males can't sting, so they are safe to tease a little. :-) Females are totally non-aggressive.

I've bern waiting for questions to show up about CBs....
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docmom_gw
10 years ago
That was going to be my bet, as well. It sounds like protective behavior. If they're not CB, they may be ground nesting bees or have a nest in a nearby tree trunk. But, I think they are making sure you mean their nest no harm.

Martha
aeiger
Original Author
10 years ago
I am sure they are Carpenter bees. Have an old pallet they seem to love. No matter, I am totally charmed by these beings(lol) I had ground bees in CT and they were cute too but not as cute as these! I am sticking with the names Aunt Bea and Opie.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
Here's another interesting (and not so nice) characteristic about carpenter bees. If you have flowers with tube shaped corolla where the nectar is hidden down inside, these darned bees will bite through the bottom to get at the nectar. This little act of insect vandalism drastically shortens the life of the flower.

We have a beautiful Halesia (Silverbell) just past our back patio, which attracts every CB in the neighborhood; in a matter of a few days all of the petals will be covering the ground beneath the tree.

For plants that they can't do that to, they make excellent pollinators.

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