Bumblebees are finding it increasingly difficult to find food in increasingly sealed and built-up settlement areas. The distances between the nest and the food source are increasing and the hummers often reach their limits in search of pollen. They tire and sink to the ground.
How can you boost a weakened bumblebee?
To boost a weakened bumblebee, you can offer it an emergency food made from 30% glucose, 30% refined sugar and 40% water. Use a teaspoon, an upside-down Lego brick, or a bent straw to present the sugar solution. However, long-term feeding with sugar is not recommended.
When feeding makes sense
If a bumblebee is lying on the ground weakened by a lack of food, you can help it with emergency food. Often the insects have exhausted their lifespan or the colony is slowly dying out. In these cases, feeding the animal no longer helps.
Offer sugar
A perfectly balanced sugar solution is made up of 30 percent glucose, the same amount of refined sugar and 40 percent water. You can prepare the mixture in a shot glass. After the components have completely dissolved, the aid food is ready for use.
How to feed:
- Put the liquid on a teaspoon and offer it to the animal
- fill an upturned Lego brick with the sugar solution
- use a broken straw as a drinker
Dangers of adding sugar
Bumblebees use the collected pollen to absorb the so-called p-hydroxycinnamic acid, which is produced by plants. It activates certain genes that support detoxification of the body. This substance is not present in pure sugar solutions. It gives the bumblebee short-term energy. However, long-term administration of sugar increases susceptibility to pathogens. For this reason, sugar feeding is often viewed as controversial.
Preventing food shortages
While worker bees prove to be real long-distance flyers, bumblebee queens manage far less per day. They fly for ten to 20 seconds and then need a break of around a quarter of an hour. During this rest period they hide under leaves or plant materials and no longer move. To help flying insects sustainably, you should replan your garden.
Create flower islands
So that the pollinators do not have to suffer from a lack of food, traditional plants are recommended. Create flower-rich islands on the lawn that are not mowed and are not allowed to grow wild. Tubs and balcony boxes create corridors between a sealed urban area in which people can rest and recharge their batteries.
Tip
Deadwood ensures natural habitats for relaxed garden visitors. At the same time, wild nature can develop here.
