It is finally starting to reliably warm up in spring, although we still have a few cold evenings. Bumblebees are one of the first pollinators out in the spring, and the fuzzy adorableness of their bodies does help retain heat.
With the help of a thermal camera, David Attenborough shows us some other clever tricks that let these “cold-blooded” insects warm up and fly on cold days.
Enjoy!
Neato! We had a plunge in temperature after a month of 60’s and 70’s. I noticed a dozen or so bees clinging to our window screens… sunning themselves, presumably.
We’ve had such a nasty cold and wet spring now that it’s finally warming up the fruit trees are done with blossoms and are dropping their un-pollinated nubbins all over just to remind me of how few Asian and Bartlett pears, plums, and apples I’ll have again this fall. Last year sucked as well and they’ve finally reported that the El Nino is over so perhaps things will start to warm up. I’ve only seen a few bumbles so far this year and they do make me smile with their large fuzzy and hard to believe they can fly appearance.
Pretty cool! Pun intended…
A bit off topic; do you know anything about wood bees?
I never saw or even heard of these until I came to Arizona.
That is very cool. :-) Learned something new.