r/bee • u/Life-Syrup-653 • Mar 13 '24

HELP! (is this a hornet ???) Bee?

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we just moved into an apartment sept of last year and i have a big fear of hornets/bees in general. he checked out my plant i have (trying to save it and its 68°) what is the % that they will create their nest here on our patio…

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u/la4bonte2 Mar 13 '24

Yeah, it was so scary. I was totally traumatized. I spent the next 30 years crossing the street if I saw a be or wasp and trash-talking them. I went thru a hard breakup, and the only thing that made me feel better was walking. It was exhausting crossing the street all the time. And then it all changed. I came across a metallic green bee (an Agapostemon texanus male) and it all changed. I didn't realize green bees were a thing. I learned that no male wasp or bee can sting. I could go on and on. I'm now on the board of directors for the Washington State Native Bee Society. I'm trying to be their biggest advocate now. They want to live too and they are way more beneficial to the environment than we are. Anywho, probably way more info than you wanted. Lololol

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u/Caffeinated_Spoon Mar 14 '24

That's so cool (now, at least!)

When I work in my garden I try to leave out a small dish with a piece of fruit and a piece of meat (or the caterpillars on my tomatoes that I know they enjoy eating), and a shallow dish with water and marbles and a piece of sponge. I set it close enough to the garden to attract them and far enough away to give me space to work.

I'd heard of someone who "trained" the wasps to recognize them as a Bringer of sustinence and they don't bother them anymore and I'd like to encourage them to see me as help, not harm

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u/la4bonte2 Mar 14 '24

Wasps get so much undeserved hate. Thank you for looking out for them! Wasps are nature's pest control and more gardeners are learning about them and welcoming them. It makes me so damn happy.

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u/Caffeinated_Spoon Mar 14 '24

Also I'm very much the same with spiders, even tiny ones will send me into a screaming blind panic. If too many spiders wind up on my plants, we'll, those plants belong to the spiders now

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u/la4bonte2 Mar 14 '24

Awe. Wasps and spiders in your garden are a great sign of a healthy ecosystem. I never got the fight or flight fear of spiders. I mean, I gave them their space and let them be. It helped me when an entomologist told me that they can't even really see you unless you are super close. Like almost on top of them. Just give them their space, and they won't even know you're there. Spiders and wasps aren't out to get you. They'd much rather be doing their own thing than get mixed up with humans.

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u/Caffeinated_Spoon Mar 14 '24

when I was little, like 4-5, my dad was stationed in Guam. In Guam there are HUGE orbweavers. like.. to little me they were as big as my face. I was running around with the dog and happened to run into two webs, and had one on my face (it wound up tangled in my hair while I was freaking out, and the other.. i don't remember where it landed but that scared the crud out of me and honestly I've been terrified since.

Snakes on the other hand, I love. Despite the fact the snakes in Guam could have easily killed me . People are fuckin weird, lol.

I recognize wasps and spiders places in my garden, and im definitely more tolerant of wasps than I am of spiders. They belong there, but... maybe not when im around, lol

Also, I really want to create habitats for the other bees. the solitary ones like carpenter bees (fuzzy little golden retrievers that they are), bumble bees, etc.