@FireMonkey LOL!!! Aww…I wish. These cuties have a very short lifespan ☹️ They only live for a few weeks at best. They are also non aggressive—the males don’t even have a stinger! I raise them to help pollinate my neighbourhood 🐝💕 Mason bees pollinate 3x better than honeybees. I love bees! I’m actually considering buying a hive, so that I can raise honeybees! 🐝💕

@Valkyrie_D @FireMonkey

Some of my favourite memories of my youth are suiting up, grabbing the tools and heading down to the apiaries kept by my dad and his father. They’re fascinating critters. They never attacked en masse, seeming to know we were there to tend to their needs. I thought of them as family pets.

It’s sad that people fear them. They’re way too busy to be bothered with humans, unless you step on one or get one trapped in your clothing. Just don’t swat at them!

@Luber905

That’s exactly how I view them; family pets / my babies 💕❤️ I’ve never been stung by a mason bee OR any other bee for that matter! Mind you, I HAVE been stung by a whole nest of wasps!!! Two totally different creatures! Bees will only sting if they feel they are in imminent danger.

@FireMonkey

@Valkyrie_D @FireMonkey

Oh yeah, wasps def are different. And to be fair you were bound to occasionally get a bee sting tending the hives, but I built up an immunity to the point where it’s only a minor annoyance. And it was always my fault for putting my hand down on one or letting one get up a sleeve or pant leg…

@FireMonkey I raise Blue Orchard Bees. Often times, people will mistake them for Carpenter Bees or flies!! They have shiny metallic bodies and the males have the cutest little tuft of hair on their head!! 🐝 ❤️