Fiona Presly was doing
some spring yard work in her garden in Iverness, Scotland when she nearly
tripped over a queen bumblebee. “I put my hand down in front of her and she
crawled onto it right away,” Fiona said. “I looked at her and thought ‘something’s
not right here, she’s got no wings.’” Curious, Fiona called the Bumblebee
Conservatory Trust and was told the wingless bee likely had a birth defect, the
result of a virus. Unable to fly, its chances for survival were slim. So Fiona
took Bee in. She built her a tiny private garden, protected from predators by
netting. Bee quickly became comfortable with Fiona’s presence, grooming and
even napping in her palm. In the wild, bumblebees typically live as long as a
month. Queen bees generally live a little longer. Fiona’s tiny friend was in her care five months before passing away peacefully in her sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment