Bumblebees Plus - Your Stories

How a bumblebee starts service with the firefightersl

Jaroslav Kraus 13.8.2020

One spring sunny day, a bumblebee snuck into my bathroom through the skylight. I thought to myself; I'll let the poor thing out, it's probably lost. I offered it the open window and freedom, but no! It preferred to stay inside, it said.

I remembered here a fright, which was actually uninhabited. Things escalated quickly. I caught Brundibár with the utmost care in a shoebox, so that the transport to the beehive would be peaceful.

By 'bumblebee house' I mean the fire station grounds. After a rapid transfer of the box with the bumblebee inside to the hive, a standard transfer took place using a catch net and a feeder. The bumblebee accepted the hive so well that it practically ran into it. Well, after a moment of tension, the bumblebee performed a scouting flight and whizzed away. 
I told myself: the first phase is complete, and I drove home with a pleasant but also excited feeling, thinking about what would come next. 

It was only when I got home that I realised I had a bumblebee in the hive, but I didn't know which one, so for the following days I sat for a long time by the bumblebee box, ready with my phone to capture that magnificent creature and identify what it was.

Although it wasn't a secret among my colleagues that I had a "bee hive" at work, nobody was particularly interested, and in fact, there were even those who didn't know about it at all. Everything in the bee hive was running as it should. It was only me who went more and more frequently during my free time to check the flap and especially the movement on it. This started to become suspicious, where I kept going, even several times a day. 

And so public awareness was born! So I've explained a few times about the bumblebee life cycle and how it actually works. 

The moment the first workers appeared at the hatch, I will remember for a long time. Then one immediately shot out and then another with masks, home, one bigger, the other smaller. Again, I told myself: another phase successful, brilliant. 

As time went on, air traffic became stronger and stronger, and articles began to appear on the website www.cmelaciplus.cz highlighting the dangers posed by bumblebee enemies. And again, one feels so uncertain... By then, my colleagues already knew where I went and why, and they couldn't resist making the occasional joke at my expense about bumblebees. 

On the day the hatch opened and a new mother appeared, I needn't elaborate further. 

And now it's August, there have been several fires since April, countless vehicles have crashed, and the inevitable phase of bumblebee life is unfolding in the nest. The bumblebees are disappearing and weakening. …

Hopefully, they enjoyed their service with the firefighters and will fly back for an internship next year.

About Jardo:

• Jarda lives in Vysoké Mýto and is a firefighter driver by profession.
• He started breeding bumblebees in 2020. 
• As he himself writes, he also helps with raising awareness about bumblebees and also spreads the word about the Bumblebee Rapid Response Unit in the HZS.