Justyna Kierat, mellitologist, illustrator Poland https://nonhoneybees.com/https://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3m4qg7z7tgs2aHave you ever seen a bee sitting on a flower or leaf with a droplet of liquid by its mouth? It looks as though the bee is blowing a bubble with bubble gum. What is it doing? The answer is here: https://nonhoneybees.com/2025/11/03/concentrating-nectar/03 Nov 2025 16:17 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4qg7z7tgs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3lztw43qahc2lMost of cuckoo bees sneak into the nests of other bee species when the owner bee is out collecting food, or open nests that have already been closed and are unguarded, and lay their own eggs there. But there are also other strategies... https://nonhoneybees.com/2025/08/13/scorched-earth-attack/27 Sep 2025 21:23 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3lztw43qahc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3llmnvhihl22tIt's time for mating balls. Fascinating clumps of male solitary bees, with a female (so I assume) somewhere inside. https://nonhoneybees.com/2025/03/30/mating-ball-2/30 Mar 2025 20:15 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3llmnvhihl22thttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3ll7yujfbz22lSharp-tailed bees (genus Coelioxys) owe their common name to the shape of the ending of the abdomen. In females, the abdomen usually ends in narrow, sharp spine. But it’s not always the case. https://nonhoneybees.com/2024/12/02/sharpest-pencil-in-the-cup/25 Mar 2025 19:27 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3ll7yujfbz22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3ljnflbdzjs24Bumblebee queens emerge from their natal nests in summer, then almost immediately mate and seek for overwintering place. When they emerge next spring, they are alone – their mother, sisters and brothers didn’t survive winter. How might they feel about that?05 Mar 2025 16:28 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljnflbdzjs24https://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3lioplp5zas2pBumblebees are known for their “buzzing” behaviour – they vibrate some plants, like tomato, to effectively release pollen from poricidal anthers. (They are not the only bees which can do buzz pollination, though.)21 Feb 2025 11:35 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3lioplp5zas2phttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3liidovhwxs2cFeaturing: Nomioides minutissimus and Megachile parietina. I also hope you recognize the Biblical reference 😉18 Feb 2025 22:46 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3liidovhwxs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3li4zoa2tgc2oToday is a good day for a story about love.Some orchid species use males of bees or other insects as pollinators, making them think that their flowers are females ready to mate. https://nonhoneybees.com/2024/02/14/happy-valentines-day/14 Feb 2025 10:47 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3li4zoa2tgc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3lhxu6ipcxc2sI just came across such a sentence in a book “Bees of Costa Rica” by P. Hanson et al.: “(…)some species of Partamona and Trigona are highly aggressive toward stimuli close to their colony and will attack humans by entangling themselves in hair and biting”. Read more: https://nonhoneybees.com/2025/02/07/entangled-in-hair/12 Feb 2025 09:26 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhxu6ipcxc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3lhvuwnd4sk2qBees from the genus Anthidium use hairs scratched from the surface of some plants to line their nests. Female shapes the collected hairs into a woolly ball and returns with it to her nest.11 Feb 2025 14:34 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhvuwnd4sk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/nonhoneybees.bsky.social/post/3lhvra2bixu2pNomioides is one of the smallest bee genera in Europe. Nomioides minutissimus, the only Polish species of this genus, is just 3-5 mm long. It is on my profile picture.11 Feb 2025 13:28 +0000at://did:plc:tfr2xjjehhucwcco7due6uz5/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhvra2bixu2p