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Woman Saves Wingless Bumblebee And Their Friendship Creates Buzz On The Internet
Last spring Fiona Presly, a library assistant from Inverness, Scottish Highlands came across a surprising phenomenon she would never forget. While taking care of her garden, she spotted a bumblebee queen crawling around. What surprised her the most was that the animal had no wings, as it turns out this honey bee may have suffered from a virus which had caused problems in wing development. The wingless bee had very slim chances of survival but this kind-hearted woman came to the animal’s rescue.
Fiona created an enclosed mini garden for the helpless animal and treated her to some sugar water. Soon enough, the beautiful friendship unfolded between them. Every time Fiona would stop by the garden, her rather exotic pet would emerge to greet her. The bee cuddled with the woman and seemed to light up when Fiona was holding the insect in her arms.
The earth bumblebees have an average lifespan of only 18 weeks, but Presly was taking care of her new friend so well that she outlived her counterparts. Sadly, the friendship couldn’t last forever since the small animal eventually passed away, leaving a beautiful memory to her rescuer.
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The unlikely friendship was formed between a kind-hearted woman and a wingless bumblebee
While working in her garden the woman encountered the wingless bumblebee
The bumblebee was affected by the virus known to cause problems in wing development
The woman made a beautiful enclosed mini garden for Bee
The bumblebee loved to be held in Fiona’s hands
Presly brought tiny cups of sugar water to her new pet every day
Fiona protected the insect from heavy rain by taking her indoors
The earth bumblebees have an average lifespan of only 18 weeks but this bumblebee managed to surpass it and live much longer
Fiona is probably the first person to have kept a bumblebee as a pet
The bond between Fiona and the bumblebee proves that humans can form connections with insects too
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What do you think ?
Alia G. 6 years ago
I feel like bees in general are fairly misunderstood. I’ve handled even honeybees without being stung. As long as you don’t frighten them they are very mellow.
Zori the degu 6 years ago
Indeed. I've handled many bees and bumblebees in my life. The only time I got stung was when I accidentally stepped on a bee and it didn't stung me on purpose, her sting just came out of her. I was so sad about the poor thing. Plus, my leg hurt badly.
Load More Replies...
Becky goodacre 6 years ago
As a kid I let bees walk onto my hand from a flower or plant. I'd wander round with them for a bit then pop them back where I found them. I thought they were cute and fluffy. I was always extremely gentle and they didn't seem to mind at all. The only time I got stung was when I did a cartwheel and accidentally crushed one. I was far more upset about hurting the bee (that I hadn't noticed in the grass) than getting stung. I still love bees now and have a garden packed full of lavender plants for them :-)
Lorraine Garthland 6 years ago
love seeing this made my day also wish more people would be kind to all the creatures of the earth including humans yes some are more deserving than others like the robbing politicians and dictastors dont think these guys deserve a second chance
mntncrone 6 years ago
First person to have insects as pets??? I bet many small-scale, home beekeepers (myself included) would argue with that! We love our bees, care for them as we do all the other critters we have cared for. I have also kept a colony of milkweed bugs in my house when my daughter was young, so she could learn about insect life-cycles (milkweed bugs, of the order Hemiptera, have a "incomplete" lifecycle) . Which brings me to my second point - HER bond with that bee does NOT prove that people can form bonds with insects. That has been proven, many times over, by many people long before her. Is is one of a long line. But, good for her to adopting that bee!
Michel Plungjan 6 years ago
Each year we have a heartbreaking scenery on a street in The Hague. Bumblebees lying in their hundreds under an avenue of Linden trees. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/science/dead-bumblebees-trees.html
Kiki 6 years ago
Just don't try this with a wasp. Those things are aggressive and seem to sting for the thrill of it.
Renard Bansale 6 years ago
Wasps exist to contain the bee population and to preserve yeast that helps ferment wine grapes in their digestive tracts over the winter.
Load More Replies...
BurntBrownies 6 years ago
Aaaah this is precious, but my aphiphobia is just noping all over :( I know they don't do anything at all, but I'm for some reason deathly afraid of bees...
d r e a m w o r l d 6 years ago
Don't worry. I'm afraid of worms to the point where every encounter is borderline traumatic to me.
Load More Replies...
Vanessica Bloxgirl 6 years ago
of course humans can have bonds with insects, i have bonds with spiders, ants (yes ants) dragon flies and a bunch more. This woman is my role model xD
Just Amiable 6 years ago
This is a sweet story, reminds me of my 3rd grade teacher who as a child her and her sister would go out to a meadow to pick flowers and one summer there was a bumblebee who would land on her and she could pet it, for the longest time she would go out everyday to pick flowers and pet the bumblebee, no one believed her and her sisters story of their pet bumblebee that would come to be petted like a cat until one day they took their parents to show them & Sure enough the bee came to them to be petted.
Helga Kelly-Nagy 6 years ago
One of my best memories of going to London was when I came across a bumblebee in a public garden and freaked out in excitement. They looked like they were wearing fuzzy jumpers compared to our Aussie bees, that my mum (from Ireland) insists are wasps. They aren't just much smaller. I chased it through several garden beds to some workers chagrin as it buzzed around like it was on a honey high. They are GORGEOUS and precious. Take care of them folks, we can't do without our pollinators, no plants no food, no life.
Eva Teodorescu 6 years ago
i've saved a bee 2 days ago from the cold.I brought Him (it didn't have a stinger so i assumed it was a male)in and fed him some honey and after it finished eating i've set Ben the bee free
Mariam Azimi 3 years ago
i used to hate every insect but when i heard this story it melted my heart then the heart hardened as i forgot then found this again and now i read it to love at least one insect and that one is a bee
okpkpkp 6 years ago
I unknowingly brought a solid black one of these inside with me while working in the yard. I propped up a pillow and relaxed in front of the TV. When I leaned back, I felt something sticking me. I was in the bushes and thought it was a twig. That happened five times. When I finally sat up, I heard the buzzing of an insect. It was huge. I trapped it and released it back outside. I had 5 minor stings on my back.
Barbara Baldwin 6 years ago
I befriended a beetle one year. It would come out from under the cabinets to eat and drink. I also saved a praying many is that had its foot stuck in the seam of the hood of my car...
Farnaz Khoshbakht 6 years ago
The bee is really friendly, they don't have sting but they can badly bite!
BarryAllenTheFlash 6 years ago
Aw! Such a loving person! As someone who is (deathly) afraid of wasps and stinging bees, I have to say it freaked me out a bit at the start. Adorable, though!
Sidney Dunning 6 years ago
This is the most BEAUTIFUL thing I've seen today. My rainy sick day has been made. WOW
Susanna Vesna 6 years ago
Poor bee...born without wings. Glad she found a friend. Warms my heart!
Ashley Fernandes 6 years ago
Bumblebee's are awesome. They're just these chubby fluffy little dudes who do their thing. You leave them alone, they leave you along. Hornets and Wasps....totally different and yeah no....just no.
Jess 💖 Yass 6 years ago
Adorable!! And possible way to make people see that we need these guys on earth!!
Lidee Moril 6 years ago
Reminds me of that Cow and Chicken episode where Cow becomes friends with a fly :D
Alia G. 6 years ago
They tend to keep bees for profit, selling honey and beeswax. Although they can get attached to their bees and care for them, they aren’t really pets.
Load More Replies...
Elaine Huh 6 years ago
This is just so darling. I can't take how adorable Fiona is with her cute and fuzzy little bumblebee baby! ❤
Michel Plungjan 6 years ago
They can sting when threatened. I assume the reason she didn't get stung was that the bee did not feel threatened or did not have a stinger - only the workers and the queen does, and according to the above it was a queen? But for example tarantulas can be kept as pets without biting.
Load More Replies...
Alex Atkin 6 years ago
As charming a story this is, but surely if its a virus that caused this then the longer the bee was alive the more chance of passing it onto other bees?
stellermatt 6 years ago
I know Dreamworks made Bee Movie (a great underrated film), but Disney should do something with this, it's almost a Finding Nemo style character...
Alia G. 6 years ago
I feel like bees in general are fairly misunderstood. I’ve handled even honeybees without being stung. As long as you don’t frighten them they are very mellow.
Zori the degu 6 years ago
Indeed. I've handled many bees and bumblebees in my life. The only time I got stung was when I accidentally stepped on a bee and it didn't stung me on purpose, her sting just came out of her. I was so sad about the poor thing. Plus, my leg hurt badly.
Load More Replies... Becky goodacre 6 years ago
As a kid I let bees walk onto my hand from a flower or plant. I'd wander round with them for a bit then pop them back where I found them. I thought they were cute and fluffy. I was always extremely gentle and they didn't seem to mind at all. The only time I got stung was when I did a cartwheel and accidentally crushed one. I was far more upset about hurting the bee (that I hadn't noticed in the grass) than getting stung. I still love bees now and have a garden packed full of lavender plants for them :-)
Lorraine Garthland 6 years ago
love seeing this made my day also wish more people would be kind to all the creatures of the earth including humans yes some are more deserving than others like the robbing politicians and dictastors dont think these guys deserve a second chance
mntncrone 6 years ago
First person to have insects as pets??? I bet many small-scale, home beekeepers (myself included) would argue with that! We love our bees, care for them as we do all the other critters we have cared for. I have also kept a colony of milkweed bugs in my house when my daughter was young, so she could learn about insect life-cycles (milkweed bugs, of the order Hemiptera, have a "incomplete" lifecycle) . Which brings me to my second point - HER bond with that bee does NOT prove that people can form bonds with insects. That has been proven, many times over, by many people long before her. Is is one of a long line. But, good for her to adopting that bee!
Michel Plungjan 6 years ago
Each year we have a heartbreaking scenery on a street in The Hague. Bumblebees lying in their hundreds under an avenue of Linden trees. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/science/dead-bumblebees-trees.html
Kiki 6 years ago
Just don't try this with a wasp. Those things are aggressive and seem to sting for the thrill of it.
Renard Bansale 6 years ago
Wasps exist to contain the bee population and to preserve yeast that helps ferment wine grapes in their digestive tracts over the winter.
Load More Replies... BurntBrownies 6 years ago
Aaaah this is precious, but my aphiphobia is just noping all over :( I know they don't do anything at all, but I'm for some reason deathly afraid of bees...
d r e a m w o r l d 6 years ago
Don't worry. I'm afraid of worms to the point where every encounter is borderline traumatic to me.
Load More Replies... Vanessica Bloxgirl 6 years ago
of course humans can have bonds with insects, i have bonds with spiders, ants (yes ants) dragon flies and a bunch more. This woman is my role model xD
Just Amiable 6 years ago
This is a sweet story, reminds me of my 3rd grade teacher who as a child her and her sister would go out to a meadow to pick flowers and one summer there was a bumblebee who would land on her and she could pet it, for the longest time she would go out everyday to pick flowers and pet the bumblebee, no one believed her and her sisters story of their pet bumblebee that would come to be petted like a cat until one day they took their parents to show them & Sure enough the bee came to them to be petted.
Helga Kelly-Nagy 6 years ago
One of my best memories of going to London was when I came across a bumblebee in a public garden and freaked out in excitement. They looked like they were wearing fuzzy jumpers compared to our Aussie bees, that my mum (from Ireland) insists are wasps. They aren't just much smaller. I chased it through several garden beds to some workers chagrin as it buzzed around like it was on a honey high. They are GORGEOUS and precious. Take care of them folks, we can't do without our pollinators, no plants no food, no life.
Eva Teodorescu 6 years ago
i've saved a bee 2 days ago from the cold.I brought Him (it didn't have a stinger so i assumed it was a male)in and fed him some honey and after it finished eating i've set Ben the bee free
Mariam Azimi 3 years ago
i used to hate every insect but when i heard this story it melted my heart then the heart hardened as i forgot then found this again and now i read it to love at least one insect and that one is a bee
okpkpkp 6 years ago
I unknowingly brought a solid black one of these inside with me while working in the yard. I propped up a pillow and relaxed in front of the TV. When I leaned back, I felt something sticking me. I was in the bushes and thought it was a twig. That happened five times. When I finally sat up, I heard the buzzing of an insect. It was huge. I trapped it and released it back outside. I had 5 minor stings on my back.
Barbara Baldwin 6 years ago
I befriended a beetle one year. It would come out from under the cabinets to eat and drink. I also saved a praying many is that had its foot stuck in the seam of the hood of my car...
Farnaz Khoshbakht 6 years ago
The bee is really friendly, they don't have sting but they can badly bite!
BarryAllenTheFlash 6 years ago
Aw! Such a loving person! As someone who is (deathly) afraid of wasps and stinging bees, I have to say it freaked me out a bit at the start. Adorable, though!
Sidney Dunning 6 years ago
This is the most BEAUTIFUL thing I've seen today. My rainy sick day has been made. WOW
Susanna Vesna 6 years ago
Poor bee...born without wings. Glad she found a friend. Warms my heart!
Ashley Fernandes 6 years ago
Bumblebee's are awesome. They're just these chubby fluffy little dudes who do their thing. You leave them alone, they leave you along. Hornets and Wasps....totally different and yeah no....just no.
Jess 💖 Yass 6 years ago
Adorable!! And possible way to make people see that we need these guys on earth!!
Lidee Moril 6 years ago
Reminds me of that Cow and Chicken episode where Cow becomes friends with a fly :D
Alia G. 6 years ago
They tend to keep bees for profit, selling honey and beeswax. Although they can get attached to their bees and care for them, they aren’t really pets.
Load More Replies... Elaine Huh 6 years ago
This is just so darling. I can't take how adorable Fiona is with her cute and fuzzy little bumblebee baby! ❤
Michel Plungjan 6 years ago
They can sting when threatened. I assume the reason she didn't get stung was that the bee did not feel threatened or did not have a stinger - only the workers and the queen does, and according to the above it was a queen? But for example tarantulas can be kept as pets without biting.
Load More Replies... Alex Atkin 6 years ago
As charming a story this is, but surely if its a virus that caused this then the longer the bee was alive the more chance of passing it onto other bees?
stellermatt 6 years ago
I know Dreamworks made Bee Movie (a great underrated film), but Disney should do something with this, it's almost a Finding Nemo style character...
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