Interesting that they are hovering about actual flowers/plants. I say this only because my limited experience with carpenter bees (or what I believe is a species of carpenter bee) is in urban areas. Ohio State's campus in Columbus is inundated with them this time of year and they chose to hover over and protect wooden benches dotting the campus. It's actually quite interesting to watch their threats to other bees- I've watched them fight and it's entertaining albeit a bit threatening to the people around them. Being allergic to bee stings makes me a bit wary, but hearing that the Eastern Carpenter males are sting-less puts me more at rest. Thanks for adding this to the listserve- I enjoy the OT comments. We're all naturalists at heart, aren't we? Happy Birding! Liz - Liz Marchio ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ From: Roger Troutman <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Thu, April 15, 2010 3:43:17 PM Subject: [Ohio-birds] Bumblebees and rhododendrons - off topic Hello list, This thread is more of an insect topic so if you are entirely into birds only - just delete it. Speaking of early insects getting the nectar/pollen? The last couple of days with temps above 70, about a half dozen (at most at a time) bumblebees (assumed to be queens because of their large size) have been cruising and "keeping station" for several seconds over my rather large rhododendron bush(s) (about 10' x 25-30' in horizontal cross-section) that is covered with XXX buds (none showing any color). The bees never land but seem to just hover about 4" to a foot or so above the foliage. I have seen at least a half dozen at once but they are coming and going for several hours a day. During mid-day there is almost always 1 or 2 bees present at any given time. They just seem to be checking out the plant and but then leave for an unknown period of time. However they must be coming around several times an hour as there can't be that many bumblebees in the vicinity. In any case the buds are not swelling much and are probably at least a week or more away from blooming Any idea what is attracting them? Are the plants putting off some kind of odor? Leaf or bud shape? Past experience (I'm not sure the queens survive from one blooming period to another.?) Instinct? Premonition? They seem to be coming from nowhere and are not seen working other flowers around although such blooms are far and few between except for daffodils. Any thoughts from readers with a hymenopteran bent, leaning, knowledge or interest? Roger Troutman ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]