3 ms·

The prosaic reality is that bumblebees don't have any particular feelings about cats. Not more that they would feel about other carnivores. Using the same argum

The prosaic reality is that bumblebees don't have any particular feelings about cats. Not more that they would feel about other carnivores. Using the same argument we could easily link being rich in England with the presence of rats in their house (that also eat lots of mice); or other similar nonsense. (But, yep. I agree that this old histories full of literary licenses feel warm inside and are entertaining as long as we take in mind that literature is not the same as science).

foxhop 6y ago
I disagree, I have cat mint at my house and my cat would sleeps under the shade of the plant while at least a hundred bumble bees collect nector and pollen from the bright purple flowers. My cat eats insects like grasshoppers and moths but was not scared of the bees, or tried to catch any, and many landed on her. Sometimes nature is stranger than reality, cat mint has similar to properties to catnip. The cats appear to understand the bumblebees, the bumblebees do not pay much attention to people or cats. The mint has direct relationships with both animals and insects. Unless of course if you start rooting around in their underground nests, at which point the will fly toward your head like a mimi drone and force you to stop with their persistent dive bombs. I've never been stung but they get aggressive when protecting brood. This was at least a 3 way simbiotic relationship. My cat passed away November 2019, mice live under the cat mint plant now. I have kittens planned in preparation fo next year's gardening season. Video is related (shut off audio, it's poor quality): https://youtu.be/cLm7nBy7M9g https://youtu.be/cLm7nBy7M9g I can't explain the relationships but yet they still persist and can be witnessed in real time.
vhold 6y ago
Agreed, although it would be interesting if it turned out that bumblebee queens are attracted to the smell of cat urine when choosing where to establish a hive. Seems like that, or something similar, would be a possible evolutionary adaptation. Then you could say they have a "feeling" for cats.
t-writescode 6y ago
Whenever we over-anthropomorphize animals, we are disappointed; but, whenever we under-anthropomorphize them, we tend to be surprised. The truth is somewhere in the middle, probably closer to us humans than not in their emotional complexity, for many, many more animals than we give credit.
- xbar 6y ago
  I think you are right. Bumblebees are bumblebees and alien, but they sometimes bond with mammals.

foxhop 6y ago

I disagree, I have cat mint at my house and my cat would sleeps under the shade of the plant while at least a hundred bumble bees collect nector and pollen from the bright purple flowers. My cat eats insects like grasshoppers and moths but was not scared of the bees, or tried to catch any, and many landed on her. Sometimes nature is stranger than reality, cat mint has similar to properties to catnip. The cats appear to understand the bumblebees, the bumblebees do not pay much attention to people or cats. The mint has direct relationships with both animals and insects. Unless of course if you start rooting around in their underground nests, at which point the will fly toward your head like a mimi drone and force you to stop with their persistent dive bombs. I've never been stung but they get aggressive when protecting brood. This was at least a 3 way simbiotic relationship. My cat passed away November 2019, mice live under the cat mint plant now. I have kittens planned in preparation fo next year's gardening season. Video is related (shut off audio, it's poor quality): https://youtu.be/cLm7nBy7M9g https://youtu.be/cLm7nBy7M9g I can't explain the relationships but yet they still persist and can be witnessed in real time.

vhold 6y ago

Agreed, although it would be interesting if it turned out that bumblebee queens are attracted to the smell of cat urine when choosing where to establish a hive. Seems like that, or something similar, would be a possible evolutionary adaptation. Then you could say they have a "feeling" for cats.

t-writescode 6y ago

Whenever we over-anthropomorphize animals, we are disappointed; but, whenever we under-anthropomorphize them, we tend to be surprised. The truth is somewhere in the middle, probably closer to us humans than not in their emotional complexity, for many, many more animals than we give credit.

xbar 6y ago
I think you are right. Bumblebees are bumblebees and alien, but they sometimes bond with mammals.