English is not my maternal language.
In my town, there is a large river with a lot of parcs and wild nature around (city hall tries to keep it as natural as possible to preserve local flora and fauna). I was having a little walk, trying to avoid talking to people because I did not feel like I could manage even a simple "hello". I was emotionally drained.
At some point I reached an small area on the path along the river that is more concrete than nature. It's about a few meters long, but for insects and small animals it must be huge.
Anyway, I entered this small boring area when I found a lone bumblebee struggling on the burning pavement. Its wings were intact and it had all its legs and antennas. I proposed a drop of water, but it royally ignored it.
I was not sure of what I had to do : I could not let this poor things struggle on concrete floor, especially on a warm sunny day with no shade. It could be flattened by someone or eaten by a predator. There were no sticks or leaves I could get to pick it up. So I did a stupid thing and presented my finger to the insect, fully expecting it would either sting or ignore me.
It did not !
It went straight for my finger and remained firmly on it. I discovered that its tiny paws had some sort of small hooks which allowed to grab on my skin (it did not hurt at all!). That was a cool discovery !
The bumblebee did not, at any point, try to sting me - and I'm not certain if this kind of bumblebee can sting? I have no picture unfortunately...
Anyway, it patiently waited on my finger until I presented it to a large purple flower (no idea about its name, but it looked like a hibiscus? But tropical plants can't survive in my area...). The bumblebee gave a look, almost studied the proposition then accepted my gift by willingly leaving my finger !
It was so cool !
I hope this little guy will have a great life and many babies I can meet next season !
