8 May 2014
Because of
their decreasing numbers, bees have been getting a lot of sympathy lately. The bumblebee has taken a hard hit. This wild, foraging bee has been the direct victim
of human development.
Our new
“intensive land use” style of agriculture has led to the elimination of fallow
fields and breaks. The bumblebee used to
depend on the wild grasses and brush that grew in these open areas.
Then, at
least in North America, a developing obsession with “neatly manicured” landscaping
of any and every public area has resulted in the regular mowing of wild
grasslands. Again, this leaves the bumblebee to forage elsewhere.
In North
America, alone, the bumblebee population have declined by millions. At least it has everywhere, but in the
mountains – where farms are rare, and wild grasses are valued for their beauty. The Rockies are, still, the home to a healthy
population of bumblebees
The bumblebee is a loner,
unlike like its “oh, so social” cousin, the honeybee. Or, at least, bumbles is the nearest thing to a loner
that a bee can get. The bumble bee
forages for food alone. These bees don’t
build or maintain hives or even permanent nests. A new nest is built and abandoned yearly. That does seem like a lot of work.
The
bumblebee also has its predators. One of
those predators lives in the forests of the Gwanak Mountains not far from
Seoul, South Korea. It’s a bird called
the “Varied Tit” (Parun varius).
Recently, South Korean conservationists have been provided nest boxes for
these birds in the area around Seoul. Some
time after placing the nest boxes, the conservationists returned for a
check. They were in for a surprise.
Over 20%,
one in every five, of the nest boxes weren't occupied by birds. Instead, bumblebees had made their nests in
the boxes. Were there too many nest
boxes -- more than new bird families needed?
Was that why the bumblebees took-over the “unused” boxes?
Guess
again.
The
bumblebees hadn't built the nests in the nesting boxes they occupied. Every nest had been built by the birds. Were the nests left over from the
previous year?
Guess
again.
All the
nests were new. Each had been built by
the birds and, then, abandoned. Did the
bumblebees just sort of “happen by” and discover the unused nests and move in?
Guess again.
Guess again.
Consider . . . imagine you are an experienced hunter who hunts, tracks, and kills mountain
lions. You know your pray, and you aren’t so afraid of the mountain lions while you're hunting them.
But what would happen if you went home only to be awakened in the
middle of the night by the sound of mountain lions growling in your bedroom. You'd do what I'd
do -- get out of the house fast.
This brings
us back to our nesting bumblebees.
It seems
that bumblebees are smarter than we thought. These bees knew they could, sometimes, scare a
predatory bird away with their loud buzz.
Sometimes. And, sometimes, not.
But the
bumblebees had an even better idea.
These bees waited
for the birds to build a nest -- one particularly suited to the bumblebees’
needs. Then, when the bird was out, a
bee or bees would sneak into the nesting box and hide inside the bird’s nest. When
the bird came back to relax in their nest-box/bedroom, the bumblebees would start
their fullest out-loud buzzing. And
bumblebees are famous for their loud, vibrating buzz.
The
terrified birds, thinking they were trapped and about to be stung, flee
the nest and never come back.
Then, the
bumblebees move in and set up housekeeping in their
new nest.
Again, bumblebees are smarter than we thought.
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