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Index of Subjects Dear All, June 6, 2007 With all of the gloom and doom about Honey Bees I decided to check the yard after reading the e-mail; just before noon; sunny and warm but with brisk wind (Beaufort 4) so not optimum bee weather. In four minutes I counted 18 bees; 6 on a patch of Bugle (_Ajuga reptans_) in shade and 12 on a patch of Ground Ivy (_Glechoma hederacea var.) in the sun. Bugle makes a very attractive lawn flower, by the way, if mowing is infrequent enough for them to develop good growth; persisted about 40 years and still going strong in sometimes mowed lawn but still within 15' of the original planting. They appear to be collecting nectar only,. because I could see no yellow pollen accumulations on hind legs. [Shortly after 1:00 a.m. in relatively calm air there were fewer Honey Bees so perhaps busy elsewhere, but small numbers of two kinds of wild bees on Forget-me-not. Also I noticed Honey Bees working recently mowed Ground Ivy that had only 1-3 flowers so the good feeding may be elsewhere; e.g. Hawthorn, Choke Cherry; Dogwood.] I have seen the usual number of Bumble Bees this year but none today so they are likely feeding elsewhere. Paper wasps have been around as well. You really have to work hard to get one of these docile animals to sting, so killing them is without justification. People should be encouraged to live with them. I usually come face-to-face with them, literally, when removing wooden shutters or painting where shutters had been and have been stung only twice that I recall; while scraping wall paint above some nests with chest about 1' from them and while replacing the crosspieces of a wooden shutter. The latter entails unclinching 4 bent nails, driving them back, pulling them out, nailing the new crosspieces in place and clinching the nails. They had been very patient and I had just about finished the repair when the shutter slipped and fell onto the truck bed. Even a Paper Wasp can take only so much. Perhaps because I brushed them off quickly, reaction to the sting was slight. Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
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