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tribe Eucerini (Apidae)
I saw several flowers with bees in them. All of the bees in these photos were not moving at all. Most of the bees were seen in Maximillian Sunflower, but I spotted some in other sunflower like asters as well. They were not moving at all and they weren't making any sounds. At first I thought they were dead. I guess they could also be sleeping, but it seems like it was early in the day for bees to be going to sleep.
Flynn Prairie Nature Trail, Prairie Recreation
The photos were taken around 6:30pm. It seemed like a strange time for bees to be going to sleep. Has anyone seen bees behave this way, or heard of bees doing this. I was told that no spraying happens on the prairie, and no spraying for mosquitos happens in the town. Any ideas?
Spotted on Aug 4, 2012
Submitted on Aug 8, 2012
5 Comments
Small wonders, Thanks for the comment. The entry on the tribe Eucerini does say that sleeping aggregations of males can sometimes be found on sunflowers. Still a very odd sight!
The temperature was quite warm, which is why it seemed so strange. I know that sometimes bees sleep in flowers, but I haven't heard anything quite on this scale. It was in the upper 80s and 90s most of the day, it hadn't really cooled off yet because it was only 6:30pm and the sun doesn't set until 9pm.
These look to be Long-horned bees (Melissodes sp.) - males. This is common, as the males do not take part in nesting, so they feed themselves and then sleep - often in or under flowers ;)
What was the temperature at the time?
It's very strange indeed ! Have you seen some dead one ?