Mating buff-tailed bumblebees

Next to a busy road, by the base of a tree, surrounded by concrete and oblivious to the noisy traffic, this pair of White-tailed bumblebees were mating this morning. The queen lying motionless, a bit sideways, the male tickling her rhythmically with his legs. I have been taking some videos with my camera lately to record some unusual, or more common bug behaviour. I hope this works as it is the first time I upload a video to BugBlog.

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I wrote the piece above almost 5 months ago, on the 19th of July, when I saw the bumblebees mating. I tried, and miserably failed to upload a video to YouTube. Here it is, finally posted. Thank you Crystal Ernst! More to come.

Hey, baby!

 Under the holly, on the leaf litter, wolf spiders (possibly Pardosa amentata) bask in the sun. Most females carry bulging egg sacs under their abdomens, while trying to find the best position to get warm. Several males move about, approaching a female with tentative steps, then tiptoeing, vibrating their front legs and black palps, and moving his palps alternating one up, the other down, as soon as he is very close (photo above).

The male from the top photo, gets a bit closer. This female is carrying an egg sac and snaps at him. 

He quickly retreats and starts stalking the next female... 

This one does not have an egg sac. Will he be lucky this time?

No, rejected again. A short moment of rest with the male and two females basking nearby

A female with a very large egg sac. The spiderlings must be close to emerge.

UPDATE 6/12/11: a little video taken on the day of one of the courting males: