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Gardeners Told to Give Exhausted Bees an Energy Drink
In an effort to help Britain's declining bee population, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is urging gardeners to leave out a homemade energy drink for tired bees. The RSPB says that a mix of two tablespoons of sugar with a tablespoon of water makes a perfect bee-boosting drink. Val Osborne, head of wildlife inquiries at the RSPB, said, "Many people keep seeing bees on the ground and assume they are dead, but chances are they are having a rest. Much like us, a sugary drink could boost their energy levels and a simple sugar and water combination will be a welcome treat."
The bees will have trouble sleeping at night and by the end of the week they will be in a barely conscious stupor.
Trust me.
Maybe they need an extra set of wings?
This is an ex-bee!
I've always kind of wanted to see bees sucking on some Bawls, does that make me abnormal?
DISCLAIMER: I am very rarely serious. If the above comment seems asinine makes no sense, it is most likely a bad joke.
Next thing you know we will be complaining about a diabetic and obese bee population.
GO BLUE!
Call me a coward, but i hate bees. Awful things that have stung me far too many times. That crap about them being peaceful and only attacking if attacked? Not true. Evil blighters. Oh, and honey stinks too, so it's not even as if they do anything useful. Good riddance!
Many people keep seeing bees on the ground and assume they are dead, but chances are they are having a rest
I don't see them on the ground but they seem to collect in my lawn mower's grass catcher.
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Trolling is a art,
...the great UK honey bee diabetes epidemic of 2010.
I really hate being right in advance all the time.
"A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
GeneralEmergency
Such a beautiful picture of a bee and a dandilion...and on slashdot. Awwww.
Nice picture hell, get a load of the bollox on that bee!
But Brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes. I'm sure bees crave it too.
Better idea - Genetically modified superbees.
Prob Sol
Until we start wondering why our honey is giving us a crazed, caffeine-infused high. Remember, honey is basically bee vomit. Also, if Red Bull gives you wings, what does it give bees?
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I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords with a refreshing sugary drink!
.. but if you prefer something more aggressive than passive, you can't beat tennis racket bug zappers. Keeps the kids off the xbox for hours.
I will start feeling benevolent towards these insects once laws are enacted that disallow the posession of both wings and a stinger.
It should be illegal to have both. FOR GOD'S SAKE PICK ONE!!!
About Diabeeeedes?
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
BRAWNDO!! It's got what BEES CRAVE! It's like DRIVING a MONSTER TRUCK into a field of pollen! BRAWNDO!!
Don't let it stand out in the sun too long or it'll ferment. Last thing you need is a bunch of drunk bees and a crashed hive.
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
Maybe! Certainly hummingbirds will like the sugar water as much as bees do.
Not a problem in Britain
Here's another trick that would probably work if you are only interested in attracting bees to your feeder: Paint it yellow. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, not so much to yellow.
But yellow may attract a flock of song chavs or a legless tree asbo.
There's an app for that.
Do you have any other guesses to share?
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
Everybody here is missing the point. Let me tell you something about bees.
Bees have "scouts" that go out looking for nectar. When they encounter a good patch of flowers, they fly back to the hive, and they do a "dance" that communicates to the other bees the direction AND the distance to this patch of nectar. Other worker bees then "fuel up" with just enough honey to fly the indicated distance. (I know that it seems unlikely that bees are capable of such organization, but this much has been known for decades.)
On rare occasions, the "directions" can be wrong, or some other problem happens, and a bee does not find the correct patch of flowers. In such cases, the bee can become "exhausted" (it has used up its store of honey). An exhausted bee cannot fly! As mentioned by OP, in fact, people often mistake them for dead. So ANYTHING hanging is not going to do these bees any good.
After having read about this as a child, I tried it on a bee that I found outside and originally took for dead. But then it did move a little. I gave it a sugar+water solution to drink, and a couple of minutes later it flew off. I have repeated this experiment many times, and it has not failed me yet. Except when the bee was actually dead.
But yellow may attract a flock of song chavs or a legless tree asbo.
True! But on the other hand, it'll be safe from the Green Lantern.
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