This is so exciting, I'm seeing species this year that I didn't see last year. Yesterday it was the bombus frigidus and today it's this gorgeous bombus rufocinctus (red-belted) #bumblebee#insects
I have an energy impairment so i am always on the lookout for chill, seated projects you can do in brief sessions. Lately I've been trying to identify my various yard #bumblebees .
I think this one is Bombus mixtus, the fuzzy-horned bumblebee. Their butt stripes go yellow-black-orange, they seem to be passionate about pollinating raspberries, and last year they nested under our #compost heap.
These Bee ID Cards from the BC Native Bee Society have been the most helpful #bumblebee field guides so far. I love focused guides for small regions, rather than wading through an encyclopedia of North American Insects.
Another flying bumblebee shot. I have so many pictures of bee butts sticking out of flowers. It's a refreshing change to capture the front end of the insect as well. #bee#bumblebee
This Hunt's bumblebee landed on my shirt and stayed there long enough to worry me. I set it down in a raised bed, with a bunch of freshly picked dandelions, next to a tiny ceramic water cup. It woke up and started browsing on the flowers. I didn't see it go, but it did go.
Notes from the morning chores, part 1.
I took a stroll through the orchard while the equines’ trough was filling. You know, I don’t think I ever saw a mature #lupine before I got lucky with a bag of wildflower seeds. It’s not a wildflower, lol! It’s a small shrub! And I’ve got like six of them!
I saw a #bumblebee hitting the comfrey, too, but it’s early and they weren’t interested in posing. There’s a bee butt in the third pic for the viewer to find, location in alt text of course!
May will start to bring spring flowers in more profusion, though this particular one is not yet blooming here. It's pretty ubiquitous here, once it takes hold, as you can read in the linked post on my site. Enjoy this, as the bees obviously do!