Save the Bumblebees!

Yesterday I was sitting in my house's big screened-in porch that overlooks the marsh.  I noticed that there was a bumblebee on the floor.  He was buzzing around a bit but wasn't really getting airborn.  While I watched, he flopped over onto his back and couldn't get back over to his belly.  I wondered if he had been stuck in there for a while and was getting weak.  

I brushed him onto a piece of paper and took him outside.  He flew off in a quick downward spiral to land on the grass just a few feet from the door.  I went over and saw that he was still struggling to move around.  So I picked him up again and moved him over to a patch of ground ivy and nudged him near to one of the beautiful little blue flowers.  He grasped the stalk with both front legs and pushed his head completely into the flower and remained that way for several minutes, moving not at all.  I think he was sucking up all of the nectar he could get.  After a while, he pulled his head out and slowly crawled around the plant to another flower and did the same thing.  I watched him do this for two more flowers and then walked off.  When I came back to the spot he was gone.  I hope he got his juices flowing again and flew off on to the rest of his business.  

I really like bumblebees.