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In this video from Bloomburg Quicktake, the reporters discover at a methane well (Skip to 14:21) a GHG leak that has attracted bumblebees. Does natural gas smell sweet to bees? Why would the bees be attracted to the leak?

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  • $\begingroup$ It's entirely possible they were there coincidentally (and got scared by the humans filming them, and decided to take shelter in the pipe), or they were just curious. $\endgroup$
    – Dunois
    Oct 21, 2021 at 15:36
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    $\begingroup$ What did you find out when you googled this? $\endgroup$
    – anongoodnurse
    Oct 21, 2021 at 16:47
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    $\begingroup$ Please extract one or more frames from the linked video and add them to your post (this can also be done as GIF) — posts must not require leaving this site to be understood and links can change or break. $\endgroup$
    – tyersome
    Oct 23, 2021 at 19:34

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It is possible that the bees are attracted to the methane because it might replicate the emission of methane from appealing vegetation alive, dead or dying — specifically the kind of standing wood that might lead to a home for a carpenter bee (easily mistaken for a bumblebee).

"Methane emissions from trees: Tree trunks act as methane source in upland forests (from Science Daily)"

What we've found in this study is that some coarse woody debris acts kind of like the soil and consumes methane while other pieces of coarse woody debris emit small amounts of methane, which is also what we saw with living tree trunks," said Warner.

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    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Biology.SE! This is an interesting idea and could become a good answer with more reading and editing — in particular the linked Science Daily article doesn't say rotting wood is the source and I doubt that is what carpenter bees want. Answers are also more likely to receive a favorable response if they include supporting references to primary literature. This is a good example of how to format references. ——— Please take the tour and consult the help center pages for additional advice on How to Answer and How to Ask effectively on this site. $\endgroup$
    – tyersome
    Oct 23, 2021 at 19:27

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