I came home from work today and noticed what I thought was a dead honey bee on the windowsill. Ive seen a few of these recently which is odd. Maybe it happens all the time but with my current interest in bees, I may be seeing them more.
I went over and saw a little life in it so I got a spoon with a tiny bit of golden syrup on it with a little bit of water and I picked the bee up and placed it on the edge of the spoon. After about a minute the bee went straight to the syrup and started slurping it up. It didn't take long and the bee started buzzing and flying near the window so it was time to realise it. It was actually a really lovely sight. One of the most amazing things I noticed is how long the tongue was. It sounds strange but felt a little proud actually, one more bee is now able to return to the hive to continue its work.
It was clear that the bee was exhausted and a simple sugary solution of sugar and water can help it. So if you ever see one in the same situation please help it out. Don’t be tempted to offer tired bees honey – in most cases, the honey isn’t suitable as a lot of honey is imported and may not always be right for native British bees.
I managed to get a short video of it in action. I've slowed it right down for you to see. the bee's tongue is guarded by a long, two-sided, beak of a sheath, which folds under the body when the bee flies. Under normal circumstances, perched at the mouth of a flower, the bee unfolds the beaky maxilla and extends its tongue into the corolla of the flower, dipping and retracting it to lap up the nectar.
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