Bombus vagans, Q, Back, NY, Franklin County

A series of pictures of a queen and a male of the northernish bumble bee Bombus vagans. Still a reasonable common component of northern Appalachian systems, its been retreating from its lower elevation and southern edges over the last century. Whether the issues are climate change or the myriad of other factors that control what critter occurs in what place is hard to come to firm conclusions. In any case these came from a collecting expedition and Bioblitz in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Note the long face and the first 2 abdomominal segments with yellow hairs. Plush! Photographs by Brooke Alexander. 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.