Honey Bee Body Language Guide

honey bee body language guide

a quick reference for understanding honey bees !!!

🐝 approaching you

🌱 they want to know if you’re a flower, a threat, or neither ! don’t swat or get too close to their hive, and you’re not a threat.

🐝 landing on you (often you can see her cleaning herself, if you watch carefully)

🌱 she’s either tired or, on the rare occasion, deciding to sting you. don’t squish her !!! she’s probably just chillin with you, but if you want her off, blow her off. she’ll fall and fly away !

🐝 buzzing becomes high pitched

🌱 think angry bees in a cartoon. you can actually hear the change ! this means they’re getting agitated

🐝 circling your head

🌱 this is a warning that you’re being threatening and you need to leave ! calmly move away from the hive or the bee.

🐝 if you’re close to the hive: sending significantly more bees into the air

🌱 usually means they either want to know what’s happening or there’s a threat to the hive ! you should probably leave.

🐝 divebombing you in a headbutt, bouncing off

🌱 this is the most explicit “if you do not leave, i will sting you” that honey bees have. it’s the last warning !

💞some extras !💞

🐝 laying on the sidewalk

🌱 if she’s alive, she’s either resting or in trouble. she could be diseased or usually, in winter, too cold. some folks feed them honey or sugar water ! i’ve had a few good experiences in just letting them sit on my hand and warm up for a while before she flies off. if not, i leave her somewhere she won’t be stepped on. if you’re afraid to touch a bee but still wanna help, try getting her somewhere safer with a leaf or something ! if it doesn’t work, don’t feel too guilty. they’re like cells in an organism, some are always going to be dying as new ones are being born.

🐝 a BUNCH of bees clumped onto something or flying in a slow cloud

🌱 more than likely a swarm ! bees “swarm” when their hive is big and healthy enough to branch off into two hives, or when they’re moving houses ! you’ll never find a honey bee in a better mood than when they’re swarming. observe them from a safe distance, it’s super cool !

🐝 moving her front legs from her mouth over her face

🌱 she’s cleaning herself ! just like how cats do !

🐝 moving a leg from her mouth to her rear leg

🌱 she’s packing pollen ! she wets it with her mouth and then packs it into her pollen sac, which is basically just hairs on her leg shaped into a basket ! that’s why you see the yellow / orange dots on their back legs. they’re bringing it back to the hive !

🐝 dragging another bee out of the hive

🌱 they’re either moving a corpse or a diseased or malformed bee that will die soon. think of it like your body flushing out bad stuff– the bees are like cells of an organism, working toward the whole.

🐝 standing away from her hive on the landing pad, beating her wings

🌱 she’s fanning the hive !! this keeps the brood and honey at a safe temperature.

💞 feel free to add on or ask about more !! 💞