"Proceed carefully and you can even stroke her Teddy-bear-like fur."

Scary! I don't think so and I'm not trying it.

I love the bumble bees, however.

Have to read the rest of the article when I have more time.

Loved this article. It's so important to get the info out there. I first learned about the whole pollinator issue from a women who called herself Queen Bee! She has a casual restaurant where she doles out education with food on the side! A chance meeting with her changed my whole approach to gardening, for which I am eternally grateful. It is even more rewarding doing what we do for all the little critters. BTW, I don't think I would pat a bumble bee, but I work in the garden with them all around me and just love it.

I used to see the bumblebees often at my place. Now, it's rare to see any. As far as touching them, sometimes they used to bump into me or vice versa. No problem, it would just fly away and none ever stung me!

Yes, bees are in trouble along with butterflies and many other insects. I blame the spraying for crops and for killing mosquitos as the major cause.

We have lots of bumblebees in our vegetable garden this year. But almost no honeybees. I probably haven't seen a dozen all year. The few that I have seen were on the clover, which we have lots of, and our blackberries. We're adjacent to a lot of farmland and they use a lot of chemicals, but there is not much mosquito spraying activity in the area.

Bumble bees love Wild Sensitive Pea! If anyone wants some seeds this fall, tree-mail me. I should have a lot by then.

I also find that they absolutely love marigolds (see my avatar), and impatiens. I should have some impatiens seeds by late fall too. Again, if you'd like some, tree mail me please.

Yes, I have pet bumble bees. They are so tame and sweet. I love having them float by as I'm in my tiny garden!

Oh, yes, and lamb's ear. They love the purple flowers.

happy to see the bumbles (and hopefully by extension, eventually, some of the other native bees) getting some attention!

I think the info presented in the original article about Nosema infection is from this
https://phys.org/news/2016-04-...
if anyone is interested

I'm still wondering about where exactly 1,055 miles north of the Article Circle might be
and which bumble bees were spotted putting in a long day's work

If any of you don't have bumble bees, they're probably in my yard. I've got lots of 'em!

Karen

Nice article. I too have a large bunch of bumbles. They love the Rose of Sharon which bloom here from June through October. I spent many years being wary of them before I learned they won't sting. Now as for petting them, well I bet there are many of us out there who always wondered what they felt like...

I don't pet the ones in my garden. I just give them a wide berth and let them go about their business.

Lestv said:Nice article. I too have a large bunch of bumbles. They love the Rose of Sharon which bloom here from June through October. I spent many years being wary of them before I learned they won't sting. Now as for petting them, well I bet there are many of us out there who always wondered what they felt like...

Yes, they certainly do love the Rose of Sharon. I have two Roses of Sharon in my yard and grew up with many in my childhood home. I can stand among them taking their photos as they fly into each bloom. They fly around me and never bother me. I will say that I noticed somewhat of a decline in their numbers on my other plants that attract them but the Rose of Sharon pulls them in.

Gayle

I saw a bunch of Japanese beetles on my crepe myrtles last week and was going to get the pesticide to spray (most were too high to pick off), but then I saw a bumblebee on one of them and couldn't do it. Alas, my crepe myrtles are not blooming too well.

I have found a great plant combination that also serves as a source of food for pollinators, albeit a one dimensional look. I am going to add more native plants soon. I love daylilies, but hate when they are all done by the first of August. So I now have sulfur orange cosmos that begins to bloom just a little before all the daylilies are it blooms till the frost gets it. The bees and butterflies love it.

@Vicki, absolutely stunning views! I don't blame you for not wanting to spray.

I saw an interesting study on PubMed (easily read) on why the Bumble Bees are disappearing in urban areas and it's not because of neonicotinoids or other pesticides. Here's the article on why urban areas have everything to do with their disappearance:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...

Gayle

That is gorgeous Vicki, good job!

Thanks Gayle and Josephine.

Gayle, I read part of the study before I had to leave for work today. I will have to read the rest of it tonight, but it is very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

I have learned a lot because of Dave's article. I had no idea that honeybees were not native! Thanks for all the info @dave!

This is disturbing. 75% of honey samples contain neonicotinoids: http://abcnews.go.com/Technolo...