Bombus rufocinctus,F, back, Park County WY

Three more bumblebees today from Yellowstone National Park, or should I say three more pictures of one bumblebee. These are shots of Bombus rufocinctus. This species is notoriously variable in its hair coloration. In this particular shot there is a great deal of reddish orange in the abdomen. But in others there may be absolutely no oranges and in its stead there may be several different patterns of black and yellow hairs. Notice how short the face is. The space between the eye and the mandible is extremely short and is one of the characteristics of the species. It gives the face a rounded look rather than a horse faced look. Pictures by Colby Francoeur 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.