Images

For some reason I have not put up a Bombus perplexus shot yet. Here is one that Wayne Boo did a couple of years ago and I am just now getting around to shopping. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200.

More Bombus perplexus shots, in this case...males. You can tell they are males because they have 13 rather than 12 antennal segments and the hind legs lack the pollen carrying corbicula (bare area) on the tibia. Lemon yellow though! Specimens from Central Pennyslvania from Laura Russo's study there. Photographs by Kelly Graninger.

Sections of a male Bombus perplexus, illustrating the hair and shape patterns. A regular, but somewhat uncommon bumble bee, that is noted for the more extensive yellow hairs on the thorax and abdomen than most bumble bee species. Photographs by Greta Forbes.

Let us present the first record of Bombus rufocinctus for the state of Pennsylvania. This is a not uncommon northern and western species....it just hasn't been found in PA as of yet. Some notes on its identification.

Let us present the first record of Bombus rufocinctus for the state of Pennsylvania. This is a not uncommon northern and western species....it just hasn't been found in PA as of yet. Some notes on its identification.

This is the main orange butted Bumblebee of the East. Bombus ternarius. It can be very common in places like the Adirondacks where this one was collected, but occurs throughout a wide range of the Upper Midwest to New England and throughout southern Quebec and Ontario in our gardens and fields.

Bombus terrestris - A domesticated bee. Widely used in agriculture in green house pollination as well as in the field. Also one that has been introduced into several parts of the world... Causing major problems in South America where some combination of competition and disease harms the native bumble bees.

Bombus terrestris - A domesticated bee. Widely used in agriculture in green house pollination as well as in the field. Also one that has been introduced into several parts of the world... Causing major problems in South America where some combination of competition and disease harms the native bumble bees.

One of the species of bumble bees that have declined since the introduction of the pathogen Nosema bombi, but there are some suggestions that populations have managed to survive or increase a bit ,,,this one, captured by Laura Russo is at the southern edge of its range and a good sign for retention. Photograph by Greta Forbes.

Here is the first in a series of shots of a queen and male Bombus affinis...the newly minted endangered Bumble Bee. This specimen is from the National Collection at the Smithsonian and was collected in Racine, Wisconsin in 1965 when times were easy for this species. Collected by L.W.

Bombus ashtoni! This is news. This species of bumble bee is nest parasite. They take over the nests of other bumble bees and use the host's workers to produce their progeny. This one is special because its known hosts are B. affinis (the endangered Rusty-patched Bumble Bee) and B.

Bombus ashtoni! This is news. This species of bumble bee is nest parasite. They take over the nests of other bumble bees and use the host's workers to produce their progeny. This one is special because its known hosts are B. affinis (the endangered Rusty-patched Bumble Bee) and B.

There are a lot of bumble bee species out there, about 50 species or so north of Mexico. Some arguments regarding species boundaries, but, bottomline is there are more than most people would suppose. Here is Bombus bifarius. Another common western bee, one a bit more likely to nest above ground than some of the others....sometimes even showing up in bird houses.

Bee of Yosemite. This is Bombus bifarius, a male (see all the yellow on the face shot? that is a good indication of a male bumble bee....not all species show this pattern, but it is a general trend. Females tend to have a nearly all black face with perhaps a topknot of yellow hairs, but I digress).

There are a lot of bumble bee species out there, about 50 species or so north of Mexico. Some arguments regarding species boundaries, but, bottomline is there are more than most people would suppose. Here is Bombus bifarius. Another common western bee, one a bit more likely to nest above ground than some of the others....sometimes even showing up in bird houses.

Bombus variabilis, male, St. Mary's County, Maryland, Nest parasite, now extremely rare

Bombus variabilis, male, St. Mary's County, Maryland, Nest parasite, now extremely rare

More black bumble bees from Yosemite National Park. Here is the male of Bombus vosnesenskii. This species was described by the relatively prolific Polish Taxonomist Oktawiusz Wincenty Bourmeister-Radoszkowski who pumped out a great many new descriptions of bees in many parts of the world.

Bombus occidentalis, female, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Bombus terricola, New State record for Maryland, Garrett County

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