Bombus terrestris feeding close to cold male Wool Carder bee
B. pascuorum about to land on the same spike of flowers where the male is resting
He shook his wings every now and then but was very still. I took quite a few close ups, of his face and abdominal markings. Later on I noticed there were also two females resting - or waiting for warmer weather - nearby. In the middle of the day they all seemed to arouse themselves a ilttle and they started to walk up and down the Stachys spikes feeding, but seemingly unable to fly.From the shots (comparing today's with individuals from previous years) it appears that the females have browner faces, and that it is possible that I will be able to see if the top male is overtaken by another later in the summer, most likely through the more visible and variable abdominal markings.
Male abdominal patterns. On the right is this year's male.
Female facial patterns
Male facial patterns. On the left our cold and wet friend
You could always mark the bees for easier recognition: http://www.alanaecology.com/acatalog/Insect_Marking.html
ReplyDeleteThank you norwegica. That's a good idea. A very useful site as well!
ReplyDeletePoor little fellows! I know they'll be fine, but seeing the bumblebees coping with the weather while the others are just plain miserable is heartbreaking. A little :-)
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