Finding a weakened bumblebee in spring and autumn. How to help?
What you will learn here
- Do bumblebees need rescuing in the spring, or is it better to let them fend for themselves?
- When is it a good time to help them?
- If you want to help, how do you do it?
Last updated: 19/2/2024
In a nutshell
- Bumblebees are accustomed to the spring cold : queen mothers are equipped with a fat body during hibernation, which can help them survive a possible lack of food in early spring
- Consider whether and how to save bumblebees in spring: bumblebees often rest in nature in spring, it is not always necessary to save them, just move them to a safe place
- A dose of energy can help: if a bumblebee is exhausted and does not fly away even after a long time, you can give it a dose of energy in the form of sugar - preferably on the flowers of honey plants in the area, or with a dose of sugar solution in the feeder. After strengthening and warming up in the sun, the bumblebee will fly away
- Save a bumblebee outside your window: If you find a bumblebee outside your window, let it out – in the spring it is a mother and by saving it you can save the entire nest it will build
- Do not try to settle bumblebees prematurely: until the mothers get stronger in the spring and there is enough food for their offspring, they will not have the desire/effort to nest - there is no point in scaring them
- Read our instructions on how to rescue bumblebees
- Bumblebees are used to the spring chill: queen mothers are equipped with a fat body for hibernation, which can help them survive possible food shortages in early spring
- Consider if and how to rescue bumblebees in spring: bumblebees often rest in the wild in spring, it is not always necessary to rescue them, just move them to a safe place
- A dose of energy can help: if a bumblebee is exhausted and does not fly away even after a long time, you can give it a dose of energy in the form of sugar – preferably on the flowers of honey plants, or a dose of sugar solution in a feeder. After strengthening and warming up in the sun, the bumblebee will fly away
- Save the bumblebee behind the window : If you find a bumblebee behind the window, let it out – in spring it is a queen and by saving it you can save the whole nest it will start
- Don't try to settle bumblebees into beehive prematurely: until the queens get stronger in spring and there is enough food for their offspring, they will have no desire/inclination to nest – no point in offering them a scare
- Read our guides on how to go about saving bumblebees
CONTENTS
Briefly about hibernation
About the fact that bumblebees can wake up prematurely
How to decide if you really should help them
What does a bumblebee normally feed on
Is a bumblebee in need or just resting?
How to prepare sugar syrup
Can bumblebees be stimulated with honey?
If you still don't know whether to start rescuing them, try following the questions below
What to think about
Further information
Conclusion
Information leaflet
Thank you for sharing the post and the flyer!
Briefly about bumblebee hibernation
Spring is slowly beginning and with it the bumblebee queens are slowly waking up. They have been sleeping for long months in small cavities underground in so-called hibernacula (hibernaculum) , and now the spring rays are waking them up.
Each species wakes up at a different time and often the depth of the hibernacula corresponds accordingly. The deeper it sleeps, the later it wakes up , because the soil warms up later.
The mothers of late species sleep the deepest the pačmelákí even deeper – always depending on the species they parasitize. However, it is always in units of centimeters.
But as soon as it gets warmer, the bumblebee mothers start to wake up. They dig themselves out of the ground and clean themselves . Their second task is to find food and strengthen themselves .
During hibernation, they drew energy from their fat bodies, and now they need to get food as soon as possible – nectar and pollen to strengthen themselves.
Learn more about bumblebee hibernation HERE
Until the mothers get stronger, they will not look for a nesting site – you must not disturb them and try to offer them a nesting site.
Mother bumblebee in hibernation
Photo: Jelly Fungus
About the fact that bumblebees can wake up early
If everything is in order, the mother bumblebees will only be awakened by the sun when they already have some food available.
But sometimes, bumblebee mothers wake up prematurely, and things usually end badly. The bumblebee mother cannot hibernate again, she cannot find a food source, and she dies. A warm winter has a negative effect on hibernating animals.
You can learn more about bumblebee hibernation HERE ( coming soon ).
Watch the video from 10/1/2020, filmed by Jakub Černý in Prague Troja. It's really not a typo, it was less than half of January... You can probably guess how the mother bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) ended up.
How to decide if you really need help
Using text from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
Early in the spring, you can meet awakened bumblebee queens. You can meet them in the garden, outside windows, or on a walk in nature.
They may be lethargic, frozen, stiff. They have been sleeping in hibernaculum since the summer, so you can't expect them to be fit right away. Many of us decide how to help them, and the first question is: "To feed or not to feed?".
We have a simple answer to a complex question - feeding bumblebees is only a last resort when there are no flowers of honey plants available for them in the area (plants for pollinators such as bees, bumblebees, etc.) and especially when you are really sure that the bumblebee you found is not just resting.
Similarly, you can meet a mother bumblebee in the fall if she hasn't gone to sleep in time.
Before you start helping and feeding it, please consider whether the bumblebee really needs rescuing.
But be sure to save the bumblebee stuck outside the window. If it's spring, it's the queen mother.
If you help her to freedom, you'll save the nest she's building.
Save me when I'm stuck outside the window!
Photo Internet
What does a bumblebee normally feed on?
Bumblebees feed on nectar, which mainly provides them with energy in the form of carbohydrates, and pollen, which is a source of protein for them. The best help for them is their favorite honey plants. These are the ones where you can normally see bumblebees and bees from March to October.
Pollen and nectar contain all the nutrients bumblebees need for their life, flight, building their wax work - nests, etc.
Is the bumblebee in distress, or is it just resting?
If you come across a bumblebee that you think is in distress, you may be wrong, as it may just be resting. You can very often see queens like this in early spring.
Recent research from Queen Mary University of London has shown that bumblebees spend most of their time resting on the ground/grass/leaves, or in very short flights feeding on flowers. This research also suggests that resting is an important part of the bumblebee's life cycle and that tall grass and leaves are important for their safe hiding place and undisturbed rest, for example for queens in early spring.
In the video by Jakub Černý from 2/3/2020, you can see the mother warming herself on Sluníček and resting - after a while she flew away.
If you find a bumblebee resting on the road or sidewalk (and if it is safe for you – see allergy sufferers), you can gently move it to a sheltered spot, or even better to the nearest honey plant flower.
Just offer it a leaf, a blade of grass, or carefully scoop it up with a sheet of paper. If you have a beekeeping gadget (see below), this is ideal.
In some cases, bumblebees do need a boost of energy. For example, if they were found in bad weather or if they were confined for a long time (like stuck outside a window, on a porch, etc.).
The study mentioned above also found that queen bumblebee mothers rested for an average of about 30 minutes, and sometimes as long as 45 minutes, before flying away on their own. So just because they're sitting somewhere doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem.
Mother bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) warming up
Photo Roger_Leslie
(2/3/2020)
Bumble Bee Conservation Enthusiasts
Just like in spring, you can sometimes meet bumblebee queens in autumn. They also don't mind a dose of energy in the form of a sugar solution - syrup.
Feeding bumblebees
Photo Ála Ungerová (9/2019)
A little story about the following video from 2/4/2021
How to prepare sugar syrup?
Flowers are always the best thing for bumblebees. If there really aren't any flowers around, you can mix a sugar solution as a food for them.
The recipe is simple – mix white sugar and water in a 50:50 to form a sugar syrup.
This will provide a quick burst of energy that the bumblebee needs to recover and continue flying.
Simply offer it a drop or two of sugar syrup. Feel free to offer the drop right in front of its head, or put the syrup on a small spoon. Then leave the bumblebee alone to feed itself and recover.
Notice:
- We do not recommend using brown sugar (cane sugar), as it is harder for bumblebees to digest.
- You can use a sugar syrup used by beekeepers, such as Apiinvert – it is close in composition to nectar
- Less syrup always means more.
- Be careful not to get it soaked in syrup while feeding, as this could harm it.
Can bumblebees be fed honey?
Do not use bumblebee honey for feeding – it may contain germs of bee diseases.
Note, for example, that good beekeepers do not feed their bees honey – they know very well why…
So only use honey if you have nothing else on hand. Better than honey is, for example, a sweet candy soaked in water.
Mother bumblebee feeding
Photo by Anne Birrell
(21/2/2020)
Bumble Bee Conservation Enthusiasts
If you still don't know whether to go to the rescue, try asking yourself the following questions:
QUESTION 1) “Is the bumblebee in a place where it could be harmed (stepped on, run over, …)?”
YES = Carefully move it on a leaf/grass to the nearest safe place.
NO = Go to QUESTION 2)
QUESTION 2) "Is the Bumblebee still in the same place for a long time, i.e. more than 45 minutes?"
YES = Go to QUESTION 3)
NO = Leave it alone and come back to it in about 45 minutes, it may have flown away in the meantime.
QUESTION 3) "Are there any flowers of plants suitable for bees/bumblebees available in the area?
YES = Carefully transfer the bumblebee to the flower and let it forage.
NO = Prepare sugar syrup for the bumblebee and offer it to it in a protected place.
What to think about
Feeding bumblebees sugar syrup is always a temporary solution that does not replace their natural food . It is like a person consuming 3 cans/bottles of soda 3 times a day instead of their normal food.
Nectar and pollen from flowers contain the nutrients that bumblebees need to live and grow, as well as the energy they need to survive and fly.
It is important that bumblebees have the opportunity to fly freely and be free to complete their life cycle. So definitely do not try to close and imprison them, even if it is well-intentioned and as a rescue, for example by warming them up and feeding them properly first...
Do not feed bumblebees honey or brown cane sugar , as this can harm them. Use white beet sugar mixed with water in a 50:50 ratio.
Further information
For bumblebees PLUS, we will add what the Bumblebee Conservation Trust did not mention and what we consider appropriate.
If available, use pure fructose (Frutopur) for an energy boost , which is closer to the natural diet of bumblebees than white sugar (sucrose).
Prevent bumblebees from getting soaked in the solution when giving them an emergency dose of sugar . Therefore, it is advisable to give them sugar syrup drop by drop, or in a PET bottle cap, into which you squeeze cotton wool and drip the sugar solution (syrup) onto it.
It's nice to see a bumblebee in a video with a bowl or a spoonful of syrup, but that's dangerous for it. You can make a small feeder , it may come in handy during the season. You can find examples of feeders HERE We wrote about feeding bumblebees HERE.
If you buy a beekeeping gadget, catching a bumblebee outside your window will be a matter of seconds and it will be risk-free for everyone. You can read about the gadgets HERE .
Feeder made from a PET bottle cap with a cotton insert – SUITABLE
Feeder made from a PET bottle cap not completely filled – USEFUL
Plastic tube feeder
Photo O. Hercog (2018)
Beekeeping gadget
Photo O. Hercog
Conclusion
If you find a prematurely awakened bumblebee mother, give her a boost of energy, but leave her outside in the cold, somewhere dry. She doesn't have much of a chance, but you won't be able to raise her until spring yourself..
If you find a mother bumblebee that has awakened in the spring and really needs help, give her a boost of energy, but leave her outside, perhaps on flowers. There she has a chance to wait until other flowers bloom and feed herself with what suits her as needed. Don't leave her in your home in the heat, she wouldn't have a chance to survive and would be tormented by attempts to escape to freedom.
If you want to be prepared and move a bumblebee to a safe place, get a tool - a beekeeping device.
Do not rescue mother bumblebees in the spring at any cost; they can usually do it themselves with the help of Mother Nature.
Information leaflet
Saving the bumblebee in spring – leaflet