Flowers - they're electrifying!
Posted on 27th June 2019 at 09:33
As a pest controller I'm often called out to treat a wasp nest that in fact are bee's; either honeybees or bumblebees. I find these insects fascinating and as part of a non-treatment approach I believe that its education rather destruction.
Bees are wonderful insects and we should do everything possible to protect them rather than treat them in the same manner as wasps. Bumblebees have perfected a technique for finding nectar without even landing on a flower.
Its not the bright colours or unique shape that attracts the bumblebee in but an electric field that is emitted from the flowers themselves. These electric fields are switched on when the flower is full of nectar, the flowers being grounded have a negative electrical charge.
Bumblebees when in flight develop a positive electrical charge and as they are covered in fine hairs it is thought that a small electric signal passes through the air from the flower to the bee indicating that the flower has a full nectar store. As bee's are the primary pollinator its in the flowers interest and wants to attract the bumblebee. Bee's are extremely intelligent and they won’t waste time and energy visiting flowers with depleted stores of nectar.
The flowers' electrical field can change instantly in response to the bumblebees presence and its not surprising that plants and bee’s have evolved to produce such a relationship that works to their mutual benefit.
This is just another reason why we as professional pest controllers should make efforts to conserve all bees as without the bees we won’t have the flowers and ultimately most of our food.
Whether or not bee's pose a hazard is down to their location and if the occupant of the property suffers from severe allergic reactions to being stung, this would be the only reason for our destroying bees.
Being a professional should be much more than just agreeing to any request for the destruction of a species, when it comes to those insects like wasps due to their agressive nature and quantity of drones inside an active wasp nest there is little question as whether to treat or not.
Tagged as: Wasps and bee's
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