Pearl Crescent
Hello, Dan & Lisa,
I have a few photos, and I know you can’t publish them which is okey-dokey,
… And last, but not least is what I call, Big Daddy Bee, a Bombus auricomus. I love those gentle giants!
These were all in my front yard garden in Minnetonka Minnesota.
Anyway, I don’t recall seeing these on your site so I thought you might enjoy my photos.
Take care
Laura
Minnetonka Minnesota
Black and Gold Bumble Bee
Hi Laura,
Again, thanks for your wonderful submissions. This Black and Gold Bumble Bee is a nice addition to our archives.
¶
Posted 19 September 2009
§
‡
°
Is this a bee?
September 7, 2009
This insect was photographed in in early September, it looks a lot like a digger bee but it’s eyes are brown and not green. I have searched the net and all of my bug books but can’t ID it! Help!
Thanks, Rhonda
Tucson, AZ
Digger Bee
Hi Rhonda,
Our first inclination is that this is some species of Carpenter Bee, but it doesn’t match the images on BugGuide. We will check with Eric Eaton who may be able to assist in the ID.
Correction from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
Wow, what a fantastic image of a very active bee, a female in the genus Centris, family
Apidae. I hope Rhonda considers posting this to Bugguide, as we have few high-quality images of this genus. Dr. John Ascher is an expert on bees, and he visits Bugguide frequently.. He could probably identify this specimen to species. Centris bees are solitary, like the overwhelming majority of native bee species, each female digging her own nest burrow.
Eric
Daniel,
Thanks for the prompt reply- and thank you and Eric Eaton for the ID- wonder how he knew it is female, amazing! If you want to post this image to Bugguide, you have my permission to do so, if you need a higher res photo just let me know (please include photo credits). Thank you again for the help.
Rhonda Spencer
Kind of Cicada?
September 1, 2009
Dear Bugman,
This bug appeared in my backyard for the first time this year. We’ve lived in the house for 6 years. My wife though bee family, I’m thinking cicada. Verdict?
Mickey
Encino, CA
Valley Carpenter Bee
Hi Mickey,
This golden green-eyed male Valley Carpenter Bee differs significantly from his sexually dimorphic, black mate. The larger female Valley Carpenter Bee lives longer and visits flowers to gather pollen and nectar to feed her brood.
what kind of bee is this
August 29, 2009
I would like to know as much info on this cool looking green bee as possible
mike samsel
pompano beach florida
Green Orchid Bee Colony
Dear Mike,
When we first posted an image of a Green Orchid Bee, Euglossa viridissima, in October 2004, and it created quite a stir. The species has since become established in Florida, having crossed into the U.S. from Mexico. The Online article on BioOne entitled ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEOTROPICAL ORCHID BEE EUGLOSSA VIRIDISSIMA (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE) IN FLORIDA by Charlotte Skova and Jim Wiley provides a wealth of information. We are thrilled to get your photos which illustrate the communal nesting habits of the Green Orchid Bee.
Green Orchid Bee Colony
Update from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
I don’t know if they are nesting, or are seeking minerals in the soil, or just what. I’d love to see that spectacle myself, though:-)
Eric
¶
Posted 29 August 2009
§
‡
°
bombus flavifrons dimidiatus?
August 20, 2009
Found at 5700′ elevation in Jet Creek, above the W fork of the Methow R, in Washington’s Pasayten Wilderness
Tvashtar
5700′, Pasayten Wilderness, WA
- Bumble Bee
Hi again Tvashtar,
BugGuide does not picture the subspecies dimidiatus, but we believe your ID of Bombus flavifrons might be correct. Perhaps a Bumble Bee specialist will write in to confirm or deny. At any rate, it is a gorgeous photo.
¶
Posted 20 August 2009
§
‡
°
Bumblebee love
August 19, 2009
I looked out the window, at my humming bird feeder, and saw bees not birds. You might say the birds and bees. It’s what my mother called it. So, I grabed my camera, and out the door. Now the hard part. The humming bird feeder is outside my bedroom window, on the second floor. So I got a step ladder, and went up. As you can see the sun was on the wrong side. I moved the ladder to the other side. On that side is a steep bank. So here I am standing on one leg leaning out, to keep the ladder from falling. I’m holding the camera in one hand, leaning out to get close enough to get the shot. I wasn’t vary steady or close. So the quality of the last photo isn’t the best. If I live another 60 years, I doubt I’ll ever see this again. I plan to print one of these, and give it to my brother, who works at an art shop, to frame, for my wall.
Terry
Mound, MN
Mating Bumble Bees
Hi Terry,
We think your photos are very nice, and since we teach photography, our opinion should count for something. Even if the photos were terrible, we would post them because we love your letter so much. The unbridled enthusiasm your expressed at witnessing this apian union is priceless. We don’t feel qualified to identify what species your amorous Bumble Bees belong to since the BugGuide archive is quite daunting, but perhaps one or our readers will be helpful with the species identification.
Mating Bumble Bees
Daniel,
Thank you so much for the kind words. High praise indeed, from a professional like yourself.
These mating bumblebees were Identified, as Bombus impatiens, by a young man that goes by Vespula Vulgaris. Take a look, http://www.bugguide.net/nod/view/162893 . I’m no expert, but it looks like a match to me.
I have more photos to send you, but my computer is running slow. And before the photo has loaded, it shuts down. I guess it’s true what they say about old dogs.
¶
Posted 19 August 2009
§
‡
°
Chinese mantis feeds on carpenter bee
August 13, 2009
Hi bugman! I took these shots about a year ago and have been meaning to send them to you. I was sitting on my porch and saw some something moving in my mom’s garden. Then I went down to check it out and to my surprise there was this little guy eating a carpenter bee. I hope you like my pics. P.S. Love your site!
Alex Busato, age 10
Southwest PA
Chinese Mantid eats Carpenter Bee
Hi Alex,
Thanks for sending us your photos of a Chinese Mantid, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, feeding on a Carpenter Bee. This is an excellent addition to our Food Chain section.
Chinese Mantid east Carpenter Bee
Bee eating another bee
August 6, 2009
We saw a bee catch another bee in midair. It then flew away with it’s prey in mouth only to get eaten by a bird in midair. Food chain in action!
Jonathan Bergado
Santa Fe Springs, CA
Bee Killer Kills Bee
Hi Jonathan,
The predator in your photo is not a Bee, but rather a Robber Fly known as a Bee Killer. It is Mallophora fautrix, the only member of the genus in California according to BugGuide. The prey is a Honey Bee.
Bee KIller Kills Bee
Bumblebee, (Bombus griseocollis)
July 25, 2009
Sent this photo to buguide. He was Identified as a Bombus griseocollis, male.
Terry Sincheff
Mound, MN
Brown Belted Bumble Bee
Hi again Terry,
Thanks for sending us your photo of a Brown Belted Bumble Bee, Bombus griseocollis. We are linking to the BugGuide information page on the species.
Brown Belted Bumble Bee
¶
Posted 26 July 2009
§
‡
°
blue orchard bee
July 22, 2009
In the west it’s known as the orchard bee. Last year I read about them and decided to build some nest blocks for them. Here is the results of my efforts. In May they are busy gathering pollin for their young. Now the holes are filled, and the young are pupating.
Terry Sincheff
Mound, MN
- Blue Orchard Bees Nesting
Dear Terry,
Thanks for sending us this wonderful documentation of nesting Blue Orchard Bees, Osmia lignaria. According to BugGuide: “It is being managed and developed for use as fruit trees pollinator.“
¶
Posted 22 July 2009
§
‡
°
Unidentified Bee
July 17, 2009
I put up a bee house for mason and leafcutter bees with 3/8 inch holes. The leafcutters came earlier in the year and have gone. Now some of the holes have been plastered over and two large black bees with rust colored hair are going in and out the holes. They have very large eyes with mandibles coming out very close to the eyes. Their small eyes are in line with the top of their large eyes. The thorax is black with rust colored hair along the sides and the first abdomen segment is rust colored. The second segment is black, then a thin white stripe, then the rest of the abdomen is black.
Karen Oliver-Paull
Northern most part of Lancaster Co., South Carolina
Giant Resin Bees nesting
Dear Karen,
The Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis,is an invasive exotic. According to BugGuide: “They are opportunistic and nest in existing wooden cavities, rather than excavating their own. Recently introduced from Asia. To make things worse it turns out to be a good pollinator of another introduced invasive: kudzu.“ Here is how BugGuide describes the life cycle: “The female bee nests alone and begins by preparing a cell in an existing tube or narrow cavity, using resin and sap collected from trees. Other materials such as bits of rotten wood and mud are also used in nest construction. Next she collects pollen and carries it to the nest on the underside of her hairy abdomen. After completing several pollen collecting trips, she lays an egg on the pollen ball in the cell. Then she seals it, and prepares another cell. Continuing in this fashion, one female can complete about 10 cells. If the entrance of the nesting tube is directly exposed to the outside, the tube may be noticeably sealed with a resin, wood and sometimes mud cap. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the pollen and spend the winter within their cells. The larvae pupate in late spring and the adult bees emerge that summer.” North Carolina State University
bombus ternarius
July 16, 2009
Dear Bugman,
I just started seeing these this summer in central Maine. After watching a few, it seems as they live in the ground/pine needles? Always lived in Maine and never have seen one of these.
JR
Fairfield, Maine, USA
Tricolored Bumble Bee
Dear JR,
Your Tricolored Bumble Bee, does build a nest underground. The fact that you have never seen them before this year may be that either you just never noticed them, or that the local population is small. Some insects do not range far and it is possible that the species might be common a quarter mile away, but virtually nonexistent in your immediate area. Thanks for sending your awesome photo.
¶
Posted 16 July 2009
§
‡
°
rss
