Honey bees don’t actually “need help the most”, they’re widely kept for honey production. Solitary wasps (of which there are many species) are much more endangered. Not yellowjackets, though, fuck those guys.
European honey bees are an invasive species in a lot of places. They’re actually part of the problem because they are imported for our use and crowd out the native bees.
This is also not at all comprehensive. There are many thousands of species of wasps and native bees. Not to mention all the yellow stripy flies that mimic wasps.
Yellow jackets are generalist predators. As long as they aren’t making a nest somewhere real close to where you want to be, they are good at killing a whole lot of pests.
It was just a little joke really, I’m not going to war with yellow jackets or anything, but one did sting me for no reason once, so tensions do remain high between our cultures.
I have an arrangement with the spiders (although the Toilet Compacts got violated by a spider what crawled on my drying off towel last week, the bastard) and if you need some spiders to go to war I can send some to your aid
Spiders are quite a mercurial ally, their individuality renders agreements reached through collective bargaining to be seen really more as guidelines than a permenent arrangement. Still, in my experience, if you treat them fairly, they respond in kind. My relationship with them has been quite strong since I rescued a big one that fell in the bath and attended one of their bake sales.
One fell in your bath? That’s a violation of the Toilet Compacts oh your gods what is this world coming to do no spiders honor interspecies accords anymore
I think it was meant as in ‘we need to build them hives and stuff’ who knows. Definitely don’t need much help, those guys
They’re pretty dumb. They drown in my bird bath constantly.
Honey Bee
is the bee that needs help the most
I’d argue the opposite. There are thousands species of solitary native bees in small niches that need help way more. By contrast honey bees are either livestock or feral livestock that are competing with the native bees.
Yay came here for this. I was all excited to start a couple of beehives in my back yard. Then I discovered their lineage and what they’re doing to the native bees. Instead I realized I am hosting tons of huge ass bumblebees in my yard, and I’ll just let them be(e). Maybe get some of those bee houses for solitary bees instead.
Also, it’s better to grow native plants than to provide a house. A house without food is useless.
Yes. Thank you. When I was a bee keeper I learned some about the things. Do honey bees have various issues and struggles … Sure. Are the large varieties of native wild bees soooo much more fucked - yep. Yes they are.
Wait I can PET BUMBLEBEES?!
Bumblebees are pretty gentle, and whereas I used to be extremely scared of bees (and especially bumblebees because of their size), I find them adorable to observe up-close now that I’ve gotten over my fear.
However, the question I would ask regarding petting is: why? When I pet a household dog or a cat, it’s ideally because I think it comforts them, and at worst (if they’re mildly annoyed and I don’t realize), it’s never going to harm them.
For the bee, though, it’s probably strictly uncomfortable for them to have a being 50,000 times their size come up and start putting pressure on them. (Bumblebees can distinguish noxious stimuli, but they do still respond somewhat to regular tactile stimulation; see p.3.)
Their wings and legs are fragile, and it’s not like they can’t be accidentally provoked into stinging you. If they’re just minding their own business, it’s really best to leave them alone, because at best you’re annoying/not comforting them, and at worst you’re physically harming them.
TL;DR: Bumblebees are really cool, but just treat them like you’d treat other wild animals that don’t want to be touched; that you can get so close to them and watch is already a blessing.
That’s a really well argued paragraph. But have you considered: why pet shaped if not for petting?
(Jokes aside though. Point taken. But there’s nothing you can say to keep me from talking to them in baby talk from now on when I’m out gardening amongst them. Who’s a big stripey boy? Yes you are, aren’t you? :))
When I was in school they used to land on my glasses and then crawl between my glasses and my eyes. I changed deodorants and it stopped but like, have you ever wondered if you were cool enough to not get stung in the eye hole? I do not wonder that.
It was that old spice that tastes like lemonade what attracted the bees, if you wondered.
Dude stop drinking deodorant
mpo
What about wood bees? If I knock them out with smoke are they chill enough to pet? If I use good smoke?
You can (very, very carefully!) pet the top of their thorax when they’re not flying, such as when preoccupied with feeding at a flower, although as TheTechnician27 outlined, it’s probably not good for them. Better is if you can find one that’s struggling to fly (semi-common this time of year, when things are still warming up) and then you can warm the little guy in your hands if they’re cold or chauffeur them from flower to flower if they’re hungry. Often this will help them regain the strength to keep flying, but sometimes they never do; I assume in these cases they’re dying, but at least I gave them some hospice care. It’s very strange to deposit a struggling bee on a flower, watch it feed, and then see it wiggle its little feet in the air like it’s calling the magic carpet back for another lift.
Definitely, I boop them all the time in the spring when they are swarming the flowers.
They’re floofy!
I once bought a house with two pear trees, and I quickly learned to pick up any fruit that dropped on the ground. The juice would ferment under the skin, and yellow jackets would pierce the skins, and get drunk. Then they’d chase me around the yard when I tried to work in my big organic vegetable garden.
It turns out, yellow jackets are mean drunks, but that’s probably not a surprise.
They forgot the tarantula hawk
Tarantula hawk wasps are relatively docile and rarely sting without provocation, but the sting—particularly that of P. grossa—is among the most painful of all insects, though the intense pain only lasts about five minutes.

Five minutes is a long time when something hurts like a mf.
Paper wasps have a unique perspective of “provoked.”
I was tired so I just decided to land and rest on your head. Why are you provoking me?
I was building a nest in the only door you use to come in and out of your house. When you tried to leave, I flew directly into your path and basically body checked you. Why are you provoking me?
I was eating some chicken outside.
A yellow jacket buzzed around.
So I held a little teeny-tiny piece of it for it.
Things seem to be okay; but then I felt it.
Was it a sting or was it a bite?
Maybe it mistook my thumb for some of the chicken—chicken is often greasy.
It wasn’t really painful, but I decided it wore out it’s welcome, so I probably flicked it away.
I don’t think I ever saw it again.
At another time, a few came through my window.
So I put some syrup on a cap to see what will happen.
A few more flew in.
They drank it up—they sure seem to like syrup a lot.
I guess after they had their fill, the flew away—“buzzed off” if you will.
I love how this is formatted like a poem
This would be welcome on !coolguides@lemmy.ca (which sorely needs content)!
I love watching the carpenter bees at my house. The ones that are on patrol follow the most exact flight patterns, it’s crazy. They always fly the same narrow lane, same height, stop and hover at the same spot for the same length of time. It’s amazing to watch.
This list seems to have been written by paper wasps cause that’s the only bullshit on here. Those things will sing you for whatever reason it deems necessary.fuck those things
They are all over the place here. They are Satan incarnate and will sting the shit out of you for any or no reason.
My most recent run in with these fuckers involved one building a nest in the BED OF MY TRUCK and then stinging me after I drove to work and got out. Bastards. I respect most insects but wasps get the death spray without question.
Death spray, every time!
Unintentionally pressed my elbow into a hive if red paper wasps.
STRAIGHT FUCKING FIRE 🔥🔥🔥. Don’t recommend it. 3\10.
You must’ve liked it at least a little bit to rate it 3/10. Admit it.
Lol. Gotta leave a little room down there for the “it can always get worse” section.
I had carpenter bees at my old house that were so tame I could grab them out of the air and pet them.
In my experience, the paper wasp description applies to the yellow jackets. They are fairly common around outdoor eating areas around here, especially near the garbage cans. I find they mostly just check out the food, though they will check you out, too, and will sometimes get right into your face, but I’ve found a good way of reclaiming your space is to slowly push them away. You probably won’t even make contact with them while you do so because they react fast.
Though I’ve also noticed that they (and bugs in general) are more interested in some people over others and I’m lucky to be on the low interest to bugs side of the spectrum.
Y’all sleeping on black soldier flies.
They’re copycats that look like mud daubbers, but have no ability to sting or bite. They don’t readily transmit human diseases, and they compete with noxious species like house flies and roaches. Present in most places across the globe.
Their larvae are the most-efficient known converts of input biomass to output protein, they can compost most household foods quite easily, and they’re an excellent animal feed.
Where the killer bees?
They’re right behind you.
Asia, where they belong (and stay there!)
Edit: oops, still had wasps on the mind from another comment and was thinking of “killer hornets” (aka the Asian giant hornet), which thankfully has not naturalized in the Americas despite recent attempts. Killer bees, yeah, they here.

They here and read story in the paper when I was a teen of a farmer that was killed by them.
Last time heard about them is they are in the states and have killed people here.














