How to Take a Bumblebee (or Other Suitable Flying Insects) for a Walk

Upon telling people about bee-walking I am commonly met with disbelief.  A flight of fancy too far for most.  However bee-walking genuinely does work.  With nimble fingers, care and a sense of summer adventure, bee-walking makes for a memorable walk round the local park both for adults and kids.  

The first thing to do is to locate your bee.  My first bee was a big, loud-buzzing bumble-bee lazily hopping from one lavender blossom to the next just outside my kitchen window.  I managed to catch the bee with a large glass tumbler and a glossy magazine, and careful not to jostle and unduly aggitate my new black and yellow pet, brought the bee indoors.

The next step is to calm the bee down in order to attach the leash.  This is achieved through placing the bee in the freezer for about five minutes.  The bee soon becomes slow, sluggish and sleepy, and ready for the next step.  Be careful not to leave the bee too long in the freezer as this can be fatal.  Please note, the killing of bees should always be strongly opposed by any serious bee-walker  

Following this we now need to attach the leash to the bee.  Take the bee out the freezer, ensuring that it is docile enough for you to attach the leash round its body.  If the bee still attempts to fly-off, rapidly flapping its wings, it will need another minute in the chiller.  Its important not to hinder the bee’s wings when tying the leash as this can prevent flight or even injure the bee.  The best type of leash is a thin  piece of sewing string about 4 to 5 feet in length, neither too light to be fiddly or too weak as to break, nor too heavy or obstructive to prevent the bee from flying.

When the leash is attached, I chose a double knot, its time for the bee to get back to its busy buzzing self.  I helped the bee warm up by using a hairdryer on warm, while others give the chilled hairy buzzer a small puddle of honey to suck up.  Alternatively you can let the bee warm-up naturally in the sunlight on the window sill. 

As the bee wakes up, take hold of the end of the string, for the bee will soon be up in the air.  Now with the bee flying round in circles on the end of the string, its time to leave the kitchen and take you bee for a walk! It is difficult to describe how much fun this is, especially when the big hairy bumblebee dives down, and you duck out of its flight-path, however if you follow the above carefully you can find out yourself.   

After walking your bee, bewildering children and adults with your bee-taming skills, its time to let the bee be free.  Once again, catch the little fellow into a glass and then place it into the freezer.  After a couple of minutes, take it out and remove the string very carefully - cutting with scissors, as the bee lightly slumbers.  Lastly, take the bee outside to the garden where it can wake up inside a flower after dozing gently on a bed of pollen.

Bee-walking can be an entertaining way to liven up a sunny afternoon, but please be careful to set them free afterwards, afterall, they’ve got honey to make too.