# Why are there so many bees at the zoo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080 "2010-08-12T20:01:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/1 "2010-08-12T20:01:45Z")
It’s been about 15 years since I last went to the LA Zoo but I remember that at the time, there seemed to be an inordinate amount of bees. We parked a stroller for the baby outside the Koala exhibit and went in. By the time we came out a few minutes later, there were bees in the open can of Sprite we left on the stroller. This past weekend a friend of mine went to the zoo and said the same thing. Bees were everywhere and people were getting stung. She said you could hear buzzing inside all the trash cans. What’s up with all the bees at the zoo? I don’t think there are a lot of flowers. I’d have assumed there would be flies, but why bees? Or is the LA Zoo just the exception in that its abuzz (sorry 😉 ) with bees for no reason? ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/2 "2010-08-12T20:20:52Z")
Those probably were yellowjacket wasps, not bees. Yellowjackets love sugary liquids like soda and are often found in large numbers in places that have discarded soda cans and bottles. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/3 "2010-08-12T20:21:21Z")
I think you probably mean yellowjackets, not bees. Yellowjackets love leftovers, especially sugary liquids and meaty bits - hamburgers and sodas are right up their alley. They’ll go out, drink what they can, and make a little ball of meat to carry back to the nest. They don’t care at all for flowers. Honey bees are the opposite - while they might drink a little soda or something, they’ll prefer the flowers to the trash cans. Yellowjackets are pretty common all over LA and tend to return to places where they can find enough food. A zoo would even have lots places where they can nest without being disturbed too much. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/4 "2010-08-12T20:21:39Z")
Sure they weren’t [yellowjackets](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jacket)? > [@](#): > > … Although adults feed primarily on items rich in sugars and carbohydrates (fruits, flower nectar, and tree sap), the larvae feed on proteins (insects, meats, fish, etc.). Adult workers chew and condition the meat fed to the larvae. Larvae in return secrete a sugar material relished by the adults. This exchange is known as trophallaxis. In late summer, foraging workers change their food preference from meats to ripe, decaying fruits or scavenge human garbage, sodas, picnics, etc., since larvae in the nest fail to meet requirements as a source of sugar. This is why yellowjackets are known largely as pests that are capable of ruining picnics. … CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/5 "2010-08-12T20:22:17Z")
Are there a lot of concession stands that offer sweet drinks? I’ve noticed the phenomenon at amusement parks where SnoCones, Sodas and the like seemed to have a large number of bees buzzing around the numerous spouts. Seems a permanent, abundant source of sugars might support a number of colonies. ---
**Author:** ![dmatsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@dmatsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dmatsch)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/6 "2010-08-12T20:23:50Z")
I’m surprised to see that nobody suggested that the OP’s “bees” were yellowjackets feeding on the discarded sodas and food. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/7 "2010-08-12T21:01:37Z")
> [@dmatsch](#): > > I’m surprised to see that nobody suggested that the OP’s “bees” were yellowjackets feeding on the discarded sodas and food. Or that nobody assumed that the OP knew the differance between a bee and yellowjacket and that he actually wanted to know about bees at zoo. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/8 "2010-08-12T21:33:07Z")
Those look like [bees](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3447/3205829814_b57e1b7be0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/78965364%40N00/3205829814&usg=__dKkqX6VoAwq_NZ3DtKFzTcTv-6E=&h=500&w=335&sz=111&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=knuFu8K0yU4dKM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=87&prev=/images%3Fq%3DLA%2Bzoo%2Bbee%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1) to me. :dubious: But then so does this [one](http://www.lazoo.org/support/carousel/animals_large/bee_large.jpg). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/9 "2010-08-12T22:13:50Z")
At the zoo I work at, we have honey and native bee hives in our backyard animals exhibits. We have an open hive so visitors can see the structure, then two other working hives. We have a lot of flowers and fruit trees in our landscaping, so plenty of local food for the bees, people learn about their importance and a few cool facts about them, and we sell the delicious honey in our gift store. Win win win! Although honey bees rarely sting, we had some visitors express concerns at first, but a few months in, everyone seems to be warming to the bees. I am teaching camp this summer, and some kids have brought epi-pens in case of stings. Fortunately, our only sting (so far) was to a non-allergic kid. Scrape out sting, ice pack, done. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/10 "2010-08-12T23:53:40Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Or that nobody assumed that the OP knew the differance between a bee and yellowjacket and that he actually wanted to know about bees at zoo. :rolleyes: Well, the OP’s post makes it very unlikely that he’s talking about bees. It’s like someone talking about a butterfly around his porch light - you’re going to be pretty sure he means moth. Plus, I’ve been to the LA zoo. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/11 "2010-08-13T01:13:49Z")
I found plenty of references to LA Zoo and bees via Google, so it is not surprising to hear about bees there. I certainly am not going to say someone is most likely mistaken without checking it out at least a little bit 😉 Seems the OP experienced what has already been mentioned elsewhere, so s/he isn’t likely mistaking the ID aspect. I see bees at OKC zoo fairly often, especially around the trash cans (when the floral dept is lacking in nectar, so to speak, and OKC zoo has _great_ botanicals) and also bees aplenty at Tulsa zoo. Its common to have cans of pop/soda that I picked up to toss into trash-can to have a bee or two within (rarely a yellowjacket, fwiw); trash is horrible at OKC zoo even though signs everywhere state to not throw trash on ground, etc despite more trash cans available than most everywhere else I’ve ever been. OKC zoo is not swarming with bees, so I wonder if LA’s environment is such that it is highly amenable to bees multiplying (too) easily and the zoo not being able (or willing?) to pay for the removal of ‘excess’ hives. If the hives are even upon the zoo’s property, that is. Lots of ‘sugary’ trash equals lots of ‘sweets’ for lots of bees (that just love sugary liquid-stuffs, see [here](http://outdoorplace.org/beekeeping/feeding.htm) and [here](http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bees/msg1000290222908.html) and [here](http://www.honeybeeworld.com/misc/syrup/feed.htm), like lieu was saying already :)) If LA zoo lets trash pile up, then bees might be accustomed to looking for ‘food’ there (no idea of trash amounts there and not implying LA zoo is ‘nasty’ or whatever). I have never been stung by a bee that I did not step upon accidentally (or swat at as ignorant kid, etc), so I wonder how many of those stung ‘asked’ for it (in a manner of speaking). Are the bees chasing folks around there, or folks just getting stung when a bee finds itself in a bad situation unwillingly (like in a closed mouth after being in a can of Sprite that looked so inviting and tasty sweet)? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/12 "2010-08-13T05:08:43Z")
Well like I said, it was 15 years ago, I don’t remember if they were bees or yellowjackets, just that they were small, yellow, and buzzed. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-bees-at-the-zoo/550080/13 "2010-08-13T06:24:44Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Well like I said, it was 15 years ago, I don’t remember if they were bees or yellowjackets, just that they were small, yellow, and buzzed. 😛 They probably got buzzed on all the sugar.