On the more humorous side, just as it was starting to turn dark last
>evening, I reached down to pluck what I thought was a raspberry, as we
>walked in the garden. When I felt fuzz, I backed off. Yes, it was a
>gigantic bumblebee! In fact, a whole gaggle of them were sleeping in
>the raspberries. Do bumblebees sting?
They sure do, and it really hurts - I've been stung by them more than once. They don't usually seem to be aggressive, though.
Pat
No I have not usually found them aggressive either. They sure like the Lamb's Ears!
Don't. :) Once a bumblebee flew up inside my (loose-fitting) shorts when I was weeding the garden - I didn't know what it was and slapped at it and it stung me on the backside. OUCH!
I found out what it was after it had stung me, because slapping at it killed it and it fell out of my shorts when I took them off.
I couldn't sit comfortably for a couple of days.
Another time, I was driving with my daughter and a HUGE bumblebee flew in the open car window and landed on her hand, and stung her. It was probably afraid and confused at that point.
Pat
Do it! Pet one! I do it. Mostly in the evening when they are settling down, Sometimes they push at me with a leg, but I've never been stung.
So far I've only seen two Japanese beetles (and squished both). One was on the raspberries and the other was on the zinnias.
We have an infestation of them here in Missouri this year. Everyone we know here is complaining about them.
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