Sweeter than honey: Local woman bonds with wingless bee

A local woman has garnered an unlikely friendship after rescuing a wingless bee back in August.

Ashlie Lennox was in her backyard rescuing a grasshopper from her pool when she noticed a large fluffy bumblebee sunbathing on her patio.

“I was going to go grab her some sugar water and realized she was missing a wing. So, I picked her up with a spoon and put her in one of my plants for the time being, while I set up a new home for her,” said Lennox.

The bee, now formally known as Beetrice, ended up planning a strategic escape that evening but due to her lack of flying abilities, ended up stranded poolside once again.

“I woke up and was like “Oh no! Where is my bee!” I was worried that she would drown in the pool.”

Lennox wound up making Beetrice a new home in a container she initially filled with dirt, leaves, branches and flowers.

“I did some googling and found out that bees like to have little huts and places they can hide in, so I took some clay and started making her little tunnels and huts, I also added a half cut up sock for coziness.”

Although the two are now Bee-ff’s, Lennox claims they were both a bit nervous upon meeting each other. “Honestly, we were both a little intimidated by each other at first. I had been stung by bees before, so I was scared.”

Much like Lennox, it took Beetrice a few days to fully trust her new friend. “Every time I would go to pick her up, she would immediately go on her back, start pulsing and stick her arms straight out so I never would.”

After a few days of fixing up the habitat, the pair got a little braver.

Starting off slowly, Lennox would pick up Beetrice in short stints, while wearing gloves, until eventually, the little bee decided she was just too curious and began crawling all over her new human caretaker.

The two have been inseparable for three weeks now and according to Lennox, Beetrice has quite the personality.

“I’m starting to pick up on some of the things that she does. She is a very independent little bee, her favorite flowers are the ones that aren’t fully open, she loves the ones she can dig her little face into,”

“She loves hiding and crawling all over my clothes — she is a snuggly one, but she doesn’t like to be woken up at night, she gets grumpy if you try to pick her up at night, in the morning she is good though because she knows she will get fed.”

Although the average lifespan of a bumblebee is only a mere 28 days, Lennox and Beetrice are making the most of their time together, so much so that Beetrice is starting to gain some fans through Lennox’s social media.

“It’s the life of a little insect and not a lot of people get to experience that. It’s like the bee movie almost. A friend of mine brought her some flowers too and is planning to bring more.”

Lennox is hoping the story of her unique friendship with Beetrice will inspire others to think twice when they see a stagnant bee.

“If you see a bee on the ground, give it some sugar water or organic honey and let it be if it has both wings. If it is wingless, maybe help it out a bit, or if you’re too scared just hit me up, I would love to help!”

If you want to follow along with the adorable friendship timeline of Lennox and Beetrice, take a peek at Lennox's Instagram highlight for regular updates at @Avoqueen.