I decided to check out if Dave’s Bombus (see previous post) was visiting our garden, and sure enough I found a specimen working at the blooms of Heliopsis ‘Summer Sun’. I had to run inside to assemble the camera, and I managed just a few shots before she disappeared from the garden. I didn’t manage the profile shot that Dave has, but I did manage the front bit, and the (now renowned) white-bottom bit.
You decide which end you enjoy more…
Of course, we don’t know how long B. moderatus has been in our neck of the woods because there are so few people making the effort to identify the different bees in our area–Dave is one of the few. This winter may be a good time to cruise through the summer bug pic’s of previous years to see if anyone snapped a shot of this bee before.
6 Comments
Wow, great shots. =) Finally having (tentatively) identified one Bombus from my garden, I’m now on the lookout for others. BRIEFLY saw a HUGE one with very shiny black non-fuzziness in the face, but a rear stripe that was either pale yellow or white. Obviously I need to photograph it if it returns for any hope at ID, but I just find Bombus SO appealing. May be a fun new hobby, BombusID. Looking forward to seeing whatever ones you find.
We also have a huge one that visits now and again, but I have not managed to photograph it yet. I do have quite a few shots of other hummmble dumbledores that still need ID!
Ok, I have to vote for the fuzzy back end view, so cute.
Nice to this bombus getting around!
One vote for the Bombus bot…
According to the reporter I talked to, her editors thought ‘white-tailed’ might offend someone and ‘white-bottomed’ was better. Of course, as a practicing Australian, white-bummed would be my vote.
My English niece always referred to the “bot’, allowing a whole new image of the pestilential ‘bot fly’.