i don’t tell this story often due to disbelief. outside atlanta, two friends and i sharing a morning cup on the rear deck spotted a bumblebee, verbally admired its hovering maneuvers and became speechless when the bee approached us in turn and scoped us out meticulously. it continued to circle us closely and repeatedly hovered over outstretched palm of which ever of us proferred it. all three of us went speechless, spellbound by this continuing behavior. at one point a mockingbird landed on the rain gutter and was promptly run off by the bumblebee, who immediately returned to us. time after time it resumed this eerie ritual, chasing off every bird and insect that came within 10-15 yards of where we stood. don’t know how long it might have continued, as we had appointments to honor, and left the house after a solid 15 minute encounter. don’t quite know what to say about it, but left feeling honored by the bee’s presence and apparent acceptance.
jack fairbanks over 11 years ago
i don’t tell this story often due to disbelief. outside atlanta, two friends and i sharing a morning cup on the rear deck spotted a bumblebee, verbally admired its hovering maneuvers and became speechless when the bee approached us in turn and scoped us out meticulously. it continued to circle us closely and repeatedly hovered over outstretched palm of which ever of us proferred it. all three of us went speechless, spellbound by this continuing behavior. at one point a mockingbird landed on the rain gutter and was promptly run off by the bumblebee, who immediately returned to us. time after time it resumed this eerie ritual, chasing off every bird and insect that came within 10-15 yards of where we stood. don’t know how long it might have continued, as we had appointments to honor, and left the house after a solid 15 minute encounter. don’t quite know what to say about it, but left feeling honored by the bee’s presence and apparent acceptance.
jack fairbanks over 11 years ago
yeah, the mantis is deep. seems like they always do something interesting. and assertive to put it mildly. great bug!