Images

One of the most common bees in Eastern North America, particularly in urban and disturbed environments. They are attracted to piles of dirt or open scraped soils and appear to be a huge fan of clovers, plants that also favor lawns and open disturbed sites.

One of the most common bees in Eastern North America, particularly in urban and disturbed environments. They are attracted to piles of dirt or open scraped soils and appear to be a huge fan of clovers, plants that also favor lawns and open disturbed sites.

A composite specialist. This is a small species that inhabits the central plains of the continent; leaking a bit east and west. Collected in Badlands of South Dakota. Photo by Kelly Graninger.

A composite specialist. This is a small species that inhabits the central plains of the continent; leaking a bit east and west. Collected in Badlands of South Dakota. Photo by Kelly Graninger.

A composite specialist. This is a small species that inhabits the central plains of the continent; leaking a bit east and west. Collected in Badlands of South Dakota. Photo by Kelly Graninger.

A little, somewhat flattened bee, from the mountains of Yosemite National Park. Members of this group are often very discriminating in their tastes for pollen. Feeding their young pollen often from a single genus of plants. Picky eaters I suppose. Part of a study by Claire Kremen in the high conifer regions of the Park. Photo by Anders Croft.

Adding another shot of Calliopsis edwardsii to the collection...from Yosemite National Park.

The female of the already portrayed male Calliopsis edwardsii from Yosemite National Park and collected for a project done by Lauren Ponisio examining the effect of fire diversity on bees (Ponisio et al. Global Change Biol. 2016). Photograph by Anders Croft.

A little, somewhat flattened bee, from the mountains of Yosemite National Park. Members of this group are often very discriminating in their tastes for pollen. Feeding their young pollen often from a single genus of plants. Picky eaters I suppose. Part of a study by Claire Kremen in the high conifer regions of the Park. Photo by Anders Croft. P.S.

A little, somewhat flattened bee, from the mountains of Yosemite National Park. Members of this group are often very discriminating in their tastes for pollen. Feeding their young pollen often from a single genus of plants. Picky eaters I suppose. Part of a study by Claire Kremen in the high conifer regions of the Park. Photo by Anders Croft.

Now this is a rare bee, I have never seen or collected this species before seeing this lovely male in Kassie Urban-Mead's collection of bees from Connecticut, she collected it last year in a field on Verbena, there are only a scattering of records from NJ to Connecticut representing a disjunct population from the populations occurring in the western prairies, perhap

Perhaps it is too late at night or that I am listening to Enyaesque music and nibbling on pure cacao, but I am transfixed by this particular bee and shot, it just calls up something ancient, something that really brings home the fact that our evolutionary paths separated long ago.

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.

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.

A quick back shot of Bombus ternarius. In the east, it is the only bee with bright orange markings on its abdomen, the other bees may have some yellow or dark reddish but nothing so spectacular. A northern bee, something that occurs from Pennsylvania North but is yet to be recorded in West Virginia or Maryland. Photograph by Amber Reese, specimen from Michigan.

Some yellow and orange tushiness from a Bombus ternarius taken during the Adirondack Bioblitz. In most of New England the only Bumble Bee with significant orange and yellow on its abdomen. Photoshoping by Thistle Droege photograph by Dejen Mengis.

A common northern Bumble bee, Bombus ternarius seems to be relatively unaffected by the pathogen Nosema bombi that has impacted many other species. While not very visible in this view (but visible elsewhere in our collection) this species show bright orange on its abdomen and often causes people to think they have B.

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.

A common northern Bumble bee, Bombus ternarius seems to be relatively unaffected by the pathogen Nosema bombi that has impacted many other species. While not very visible in this view (but visible elsewhere in our collection) this species show bright orange on its abdomen and often causes people to think they have B.

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.