this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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Science Memes

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I've never wanted to brush a bee before but boy do I now.

[–] CannonFodder@lemmy.world 35 points 1 week ago (5 children)

You want a cat sized version of this? Nightmare fuel.

[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world 39 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Edit: apparently that's a tiger beetle.

Much cuter from just a few inches away.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I imagine its face would get cuter. Kind of like how lions will eat you if you don't agree with me

[–] aeshna_cyanea@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

That's also not a bee, bees don't have jaws

[–] NannerBanner@literature.cafe 9 points 1 week ago

Yeah, I'd give those antennae ridges a good scritch.

[–] QuinnyCoded@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago

I've bonded with a rock before, I'm sure I would give this little guy a big ol hug

[–] BigBrownDog@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I was thinking it would be terrifying. Also think about how bad bee stings hurt when they're small. I imagine a bee. The size of a cat would give you something similar to a bullet wound.

[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Bumblebees dont have stingers though, right ? Big puppies

[–] BigBrownDog@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Not only do bumblebees have stingers, they can sting multiple times without dying like honeybees.

[–] Dinglefluff@piefed.social 29 points 1 week ago

Make it happen science

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

spoilerAnd then they'd sting you in the balls if you get up too fast

[–] alekwithak@lemmy.world 28 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

If there was a pet bumblebee industry there would also likely be a bumblebee cosmetic surgery industry like we see with other popular pets. I'm sure stinger removal would be a standard procedure for an indoor bee. Or they'd be bred out after so many years. Probably designer bee coats as well. I bet they'd bee pretty cute and cuddly.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 34 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Just put a cork over the stinger

[–] cravl@slrpnk.net 9 points 1 week ago

Clown nose.

[–] ada@piefed.blahaj.zone 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Bumblebees are not aggressive, and even though they can sting without dying (unlike honeybees), they generally don't. It would be like getting bitten by a Labrador. It's possible, but something went wrong somewhere for things to end that way...

[–] alekwithak@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm by no means accusing any bees of violence beyond what is warranted, or any hypothetical pet bees of aggression, but as it is humanity clips dogs' tails and ears and breeds them into monstrosities for no reason other than aesthetics, so why wouldn't we do the same to any other hypothetical pet?

[–] PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social 5 points 1 week ago

There are actually legitimate reasons to crop tails and ears in certain breeds. For instance, a lot of dogs with very floppy ears get ear infections so frequently and severely that they end up going deaf, and cropping them is a last-ditch effort to prevent that from continuing. I've also heard of at least one dog that broke his very skinny tail so many times from wagging it against furniture in happiness that he had to have it cropped.

[–] daannii@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Okay but assuming all body parts would scale up the same.
The stinger would be incredibly blunt.

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Like getting punched in the balls i suppose

[–] pupbiru@aussie.zone 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

okay but that’s also cats

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

God i hope not

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

My balls or just any balls

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago
[–] nathanjent@programming.dev 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Bumble bees also eat small animals such as spiders, aphids and wasps not strictly nectar and pollen. I would be concerned having other small pets around these "kitten bees".

[–] rockerface@lemmy.cafe 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So literally just like cats

[–] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yes, except for the exposed mandibles. Cats would be terrifying if they didn't had lips.

[–] alzymologist@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I pet bees and bumblebees sometimes, pretty sure they enjoy it.

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I used to pet the really fat dopey round ones.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 points 1 week ago

Years ago, we had a big garden with snapdragons, and those big fat bumble bees would root deep inside the blossoms, with their big butts hanging out. My cat would go up and put her nose right on their butts to get a good whiff! Never got stung. The bees didn't even really mind, it seemed.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Wow, so you could also groom a kitten size termite? How amazing would that be?

[–] Rcklsabndn@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm holding out for an Airedale sized earwig, chittering in my lap as I skritch it's carapace.