I’ve never seen anything like this before. was out checking my trees a couple weeks ago and came across this huge bumble been sitting on one of the leaves of my peach tree…it looked as if it were still alive, but it didn’t have any wings.
There is more wrong with that bee than lack of wings. There is no fuzz on the thorax. My guess is that it has either been attacked or is malformed. One other option is that it may have gotten stuck on something sticky. It doesn’t bode well for that one.
So how did he get up on the peach, climb? My thought is I feel sorry for the poor critter. Designed to fly and no wings, bummer.
Yup. Bees with badly deformed wings walk and climb. It’s their only choice.
so pretty much this was a freak of nature? It’s really sad because I’m always looking for more pollinators…
it does give a little bit of perspective re this ‘thing’ called life. Bees, wasps, ants,etc know not of anything else other than ‘all for one(the queen and/or hive/nest) and one for all’.
they will fight to the death if there are enemies, and if they survive, they will resume their domestic foraging duties even with severe injuries as if nothing has happened.
when their wings are no more(the bees and wasps in their old age and ‘insignificant’ lifespans) , they will walk/crawl to work and hopefully make it back, which is practically suicide.
probably still trying to be busy looking for forage, and literally by foot.
even though badly injured, weary, and exhausted
may also be a futile attempt to ‘launch’ itself from a higher elevation…
when with heavy loads, wasps and kin do just that–
Varroa mites.