Worlds biggest bee rediscovered

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M

Miri

Guest
#1
#1
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47311186


The world's biggest bee has been re-discovered, after decades thought lost to science.
The giant bee - which is as long as an adult's thumb - was found on a little-explored Indonesian island.
After days of searching, wildlife experts found a single live female, which they photographed and filmed.
Known as Wallace's giant bee, the insect is named after the British naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace, who described it in 1858.
Scientists found several specimens in 1981, but it has not been seen since.
In January, a team followed in Wallace's footsteps on a journey through Indonesia in an attempt to find and photograph the bee.




 
M

Miri

Guest
#2
#2
Coincidentally the worlds biggest fly swatter has been discovered!


 
Dino246

Dino246

Senior Member
#3
Jun 30, 2015
25,491
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#3
Bees are good, even the big ones.

Bees aren't wasps.

Wasps aren't so good. They are more aggressive and less directly beneficial, and they kill bees to get their honey. They also come bigger than the Wallace's bee... the Asian giant hornet gets up to 45 mm long, while the bee females only get to 38 mm and the males are smaller.

Swat the wasps--with a tennis racket--but leave the bees. Please. :)
 
M

Miri

Guest
#4
#4
Dino246 said:
Bees are good, even the big ones.

Bees aren't wasps.

Wasps aren't so good. They are more aggressive and less directly beneficial, and they kill bees to get their honey. They also come bigger than the Wallace's bee... the Asian giant hornet gets up to 45 mm long, while the bee females only get to 38 mm and the males are smaller.

Swat the wasps--with a tennis racket--but leave the bees. Please. :)
Click to expand...

Hey if I saw something that big buzzing around my bedroom, I would
definately reach for something big and heavy......

Last year I couldn’t open my bedroom window for a few months as a load
of giant hornets had decided to nest somewhere nearby. Every time I opened
a window these 3 inch long buzzing things came inside.

Thank goodness for Raid creepy crawley spray killer.
 
posthuman

posthuman

Senior Member
#7
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
113
#7
Dino246 said:
Bees are good, even the big ones.

Bees aren't wasps.

Wasps aren't so good. They are more aggressive and less directly beneficial, and they kill bees to get their honey. They also come bigger than the Wallace's bee... the Asian giant hornet gets up to 45 mm long, while the bee females only get to 38 mm and the males are smaller.

Swat the wasps--with a tennis racket--but leave the bees. Please. :)
Click to expand...
a lot of wasps are pollinators too, tho, just like bees.

if you're not out to swat them, they generally aren't out to sting you either -- tho there are some kinds that are very aggressive most aren't.
 
posthuman

posthuman

Senior Member
#8
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
113
#8
Miri said:
Hey if I saw something that big buzzing around my bedroom, I would
definately reach for something big and heavy......

Last year I couldn’t open my bedroom window for a few months as a load
of giant hornets had decided to nest somewhere nearby. Every time I opened
a window these 3 inch long buzzing things came inside.

Thank goodness for Raid creepy crawley spray killer.
Click to expand...

as many nice things as i would say about wasps or hornets, having them in the garden is one thing, and having them inside my house is something else :p
 
A

AuntieAnt

Guest
#9
#9
There is a giant black bee flying around here in Central Texas, too. I've only seen it a few times and don't know if it's similar to the one in Indonesia. I didn't get too close to it. In fact, I went in the other direction - AWAY from it! :eek: FAST!!!!

Someone told me it was probably a Bee Killer or a Robber Fly and that it can snatch a bird out of the air to eat it. I don't know how true any of that is, but if someone in the southern regions can enlighten me, I'd appreciate it. :unsure:
 
Dino246

Dino246

Senior Member
#10
Jun 30, 2015
25,491
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#10
The way my browser window was sized, this thread title appeared as...

Worlds biggest bee r...

It's clickbait, I'm telling you.
 
A

Adstar

Senior Member
#14
Jul 24, 2016
7,585
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#14
AuntieAnt said:
There is a giant black bee flying around here in Central Texas, too. I've only seen it a few times and don't know if it's similar to the one in Indonesia. I didn't get too close to it. In fact, I went in the other direction - AWAY from it! :eek: FAST!!!!

Someone told me it was probably a Bee Killer or a Robber Fly and that it can snatch a bird out of the air to eat it. I don't know how true any of that is, but if someone in the southern regions can enlighten me, I'd appreciate it. :unsure:
Click to expand...
It may have been a carpenter bee they are big and black

https://bestbeebrothers.com/blogs/blog/black-bees-how-to-differentiate-a-bumble-bee-vs-carpenter-bee
 
A

AuntieAnt

Guest
#15
#15
p_rehbein

p_rehbein

Senior Member
#17
Sep 4, 2013
30,704
6,892
113
#17
Dino246 said:
Bees are good, even the big ones.

Bees aren't wasps.

Wasps aren't so good. They are more aggressive and less directly beneficial, and they kill bees to get their honey. They also come bigger than the Wallace's bee... the Asian giant hornet gets up to 45 mm long, while the bee females only get to 38 mm and the males are smaller.

Swat the wasps--with a tennis racket--but leave the bees. Please. :)
Click to expand...
Guessing you never ran into a swarm of KILLER BEES, right? :)
 
Dino246

Dino246

Senior Member
#18
Jun 30, 2015
25,491
13,798
113
#18
p_rehbein said:
Guessing you never ran into a swarm of KILLER BEES, right? :)
Click to expand...
Only in my dreams. ;)

Africanized "killer" bees bear remarkable temperamental similarity to social justice warriors.
 
breno785au

breno785au

Senior Member
#19
Jul 23, 2013
6,002
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Australia
#19
Wasps and bees - 99% of the time they will leave you alone, it's when you start swiping they get aggressive and see it as a threat.. Obviously there's the rare occasion of people being stung without aggravation.

I love bees.
 
M

Miri

Guest
#20
#20
Ages ago I nearly walked into a swarm of bees. I was walking the dog
while chatting to someone when they suddenly pulled me to one side.

I was just about to walk into a branch sticking out of a hedge covered in bees.

The branch just looked like it was moving and crawling. Yuk
 
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