Sometimes you see things in nature that you could not ever imagine being possible. Today was a day that I was again surprised with the things that go on under our noses just outside our regular view.
I've never though that the nature was a dangerous place for something like an insect. I know that they have predators that go after and eat them but I never pictured the environment itself as being threatening to any insect.
Maybe it's because they're so small, maybe it's because we don't put a lot of importance on them but today I was assured that even the environment itself is dangerous for something as small as a honey bee.
I have a lot of honey bees around my property because I'm a new beekeeper. I'm not sure if there was a lot of bees around me before but I notice them a lot more now because I'm aware of their presence.
While I was taking a little break and talking to my neighbor today I noticed a bee on a branch right in front of me. When I looked a little closer I realized that the bee wasn't alive and on even closer investigation I realized that the bees flight path had run her straight into a thorn on one of my bushes.
When you see the picture it looks really hard to believe. I know because I'd probably not believe it myself if someone showed it to me. But I plucked off the branch without disturbing the impaled bee so that I could take a decent picture of it and share it with all of you.
Be careful out there, it's a dangerous place for everybody.
Submitted by Bee gossip (not verified) on May 9, 2010 - 10:59pm.
The bee didn't impale herself on the thorn. It was more than likely the work of a bird called a shriek, either a loggerhead or northern. Bees seem a might small, they most often impale grasshopper sized insects or even mice. Barbed wire fences out west can hold quite a collection.
Submitted by cactii on May 12, 2010 - 10:47pm.
It could be, but I really don't think so. A Shrike uses this method of killing its prey so that it can eat it. This bee was not eaten. You can also see in the picture that the bee is fully in tact without broken wings or squishing which would most likely be apparent if it was grabbed in the claws of a Shrike. It's as if this bee had impaled itself there on the thorn and dried up in the hot sun.
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