Bombus rufocinctus (Cresson 1863)
While reviewing and rebuilding Lightroom libraries, I came across this image from 2011: an early-May red-belted bumblebee that stumbled out of a pasque flower. In the picture below she is arching her back and lowering her head, the only defiance she could muster at that moment. She was obviously exhausted so I resuscitated it with some honey-water. She soon recovered and buzzed off.
Bombus rufocinctus (Cresson 1863)
7 Comments
Hi Adrian….I am impressed with your work. I realize the challenges in this close-up/photomacrography range and your results are outstanding.
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Jim
nice rescue and images! I also tend to do things like this when I find insects in trouble.
Hi Adrian.
A pissy little issue but for someone who is wrestling with getting to know the bumblebees, kind of important. Your rufocinctus image appears to have have almost pale orange yellow on the thorax. All I have seen are pale creamy yellow. Do you know if your bee was in fact as deep yellow as you show?????
Thanks Adrian
Gary Anweiler
Wow! That’s a lot of question marks…
I went back to look at the original RAW images, as well as the first image that I uploaded to BugGuide soon after it was photographed it, and yes, you are right, it is a pale yellow. I’ve boosted the saturation too much. I’ll tweek those and repost. Thanks!!!!!
Thanks Adrian! That is good news. I find them difficult enough to id as is, and was hoping they don’t come in variable shades as well!. I am looking forward to their reappearance.
rufocinctus seems to be the most colour-variable of Edmonton’s Bombus. No Bombus here, although some Carpenter Bees of similar size, but nothing with a true social structure except the (as yet) Varroa-free Apis. Yet, the bee-pollinated plants in Australia seem to do fine (although, admittedly, there are a lot of bird and bat pollinated species).
Glad you still have time to think of us up here in the frozen north! I hope your Australian venture is going well.