Bombus nevadensis,f, face, Jackson Co., SD

If you were in the Badlands of South Dakota in the Summer, and were paying attention to your bumblebees, you would see this one. Bombus nevadensis. It is big and the queens are extra beefy. This is one of the dark bumbles. More black on the sides of the body and tinted wings. Bug-wise, it doesn't really get a lot heaftier than this in the North American world. There are some big beetles but they don't gaily fly around gathering pollen...pretty amazing you big ol' bumbly bee (wow, did I just say that? I will have to watch it or my pontificatory science license will get revoked).Photo by Kelly Graninger. 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, USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.