bumblebees – Bees

Category: bumblebees

Bombus auricomus. An interesting bumble bee….

Posted on 13/02/2019 by

USGS Native Bee Lab Posted in bees, bombus, bumblebee, bumblebees, composites, farm, morrisarboretum, mow, Planting, rural, savethebees, urban

Bombus auricomus. An interesting bumble bee.

One, that in the East, often seems to show up more often in urban areas than outside of cities.

It is uncommon and a surprisingly tricky look-a-like to B. pensylvanicus (note singular “n”). I have both in my yard, which is rural, and I believe it is because I emphasize planting big yellow composites, thistles, and other such late season bloomers…plants that seem to disappear from our over mown roadsides and farm edges these days. This one from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, collected at Morris Arboretum by Stephanie Wilson

Some of the bee pics that are not making the c…

Posted on 12/08/2018 by

The Wanna Beee Posted in bee, bees, bumble bee, bumble bees, bumblebee, bumblebees, flower, flowers, photography, save the bees

Yes, some of these are really great, but that just means that the ones in the calendar are going to be even better.

Aren’t these so great? I love them! More pics to come as I filter through them! I’m doing an elimination process 🙂

The giant bumblebee (Bombus dahlbomii).

Posted on 02/07/2018 by

USGS Native Bee Lab Posted in arthropod, bees, bienen, bombus, bumblebee, bumblebees, chile, insecta, insectos, insects, insekten, orange, Orange and black, orange is the new black, usgs

The giant bumblebee (Bombus dahlbomii).

A denizen of the southern Andes and widely believed to be in decline due to competition and perhaps spread of pathogens with two introduced European bumblebees that have invaded the region. You notice this bee when it flies by. Dramatically orange with yellow highlights on the traditional deep black integument of bumblebees.

#20 in the CAMPAIGN TO KNOW YOUR WILD BEESWh…

Posted on 01/06/2018 by

USGS Native Bee Lab Posted in B, BeElover, bees, black background, bombus, bumble bee, bumblebee, bumblebees, Declining, Endangered, endangered species, entomology, Fact, facts, pollination, Save our bees, usgs

#20 in the CAMPAIGN TO KNOW YOUR WILD BEES

While there is a lot of talk of bee decline,..

We know so very little about the actual status of bees that we may have species that need to be listed, but you can’t list something unless you know something about its status. I like to encourage people to submit photos of bees to BugGuide as well as to i-naturalist particularly if they start targeting uncommon plants and their visitors. Traditional collecting of bees for museums is even better. For example, yesterday, within a mile of the laboratory I was poking around and came across a large patch of deerberry and sure enough the very uncommonly recorded specialist (and most people very rare) species Panurginus atramontenis were all over the bloom. I easily could’ve caught over hundred. Just one example where poking around in the right place can yield big results. Bombus affinis is our one endangered species, a bumblebee, and therefore something that people have paid attention to over the years. As part of a larger syndrome of decline due to pathogens brought over from Europe the species is particularly hard-hit and largely restricted to the upper Midwest and Appalachia. Again, take pictures, submit them to Bumblebee Watch and to the other two places I mentioned and maybe we can find some additional specimens.