This is the second time this has happened this week. I wake up before dawn and the kitchen light is on, because I left it on, and there are about 20 bees buzzing furiously and flying directly into the screen. The only thing that deters them (aside from a can of Raid) is to turn off the light in the kitchen, and turn on the exterior light. Then the bees fly furiously at the light cover. Why are thees bees up so early, and what do they mean trying to get in my house?
Bees navigate using the relative position of the sun. Because the sun is so far away, if you want to go in a straight line, you keep the sun at a constant angle relative to your direction. That doesn’t work for light bulbs, because they are so much closer - you’ll be going in a circle. So there’s a good chance they’d end up circling a light bulb pretty closely.
I don’t know whay they’d be up so early, though.
Are they bees–or yellowjackets (wasps)? I see that you’re in NY state; here in the Midwest, it’s quite common for yellowjackets to come into the house in September. They hang around the outside doors and slip in whenever the door is open. And yeah, they generally end up circling the light fixtures in the dining room and kitchen. I find mummified corpses of dead yellowjackets in there all the time. I assume it’s because they’re trying to get back “outside”, and so they go towards the light.
Website on bees, ants, and wasps, including picture of yellowjacket.
They may well have been yellowjackets. First thing in the morning, I am not too inclined to inspect bugs closely. I have had all sorts of stinging insects creep into my house, but I have never seen any of them do anything half an hour before sunrise.
I don’t mean to bump, but it happened again this morning. It also rained in the wee hours again today. Perhaps they are getting washed out of their hive and looking for a warm dry place?
Well, did we establish whether they’re bees, or yellowjackets? Seems like we oughta figure out what they are before we start speculating on the reasons for their behavior. Go get a dead one and look at it.
