Bumblebee Gathering: Mating, Getting warm?
July 15, 2010
Continuing my backlog of photos, here is some pictures of a group of four, possibly five bumblebees. I am not exactly sure what they were doing when I took the photo. I have a video of it as well. My personal theory is that they were grouping together to stay warm, but it’s possible I witnessed a rare bumblebee orgy!
Any information you can provide will be most helpful!
Joseph Grabko
Harrisburg, PA, USA
Bumble Bee Mating Frenzy
Hi Joseph,
Thanks for sending us your photos of a Bumble Bee mating aggregation. Two years ago, we posted a similar photo and here is what Eric Eaton had to say at the time. “Daniel: The bumble bee mating behavior is typical of many ground-nesting bees. Virgin queens are a hot commodity, so males flock to them and compete for an opportunity to mate. Eric Eaton“
Thank you for the quick response! We have a LOT of bumblebees in the summer, mainly because of our large Lavender plant in our front yard. However, this was the first and only time I had seen this behavior! I’m glad I was able to run inside fast enough to get my camera. I had to leave shortly after taking the photos and short video, and when I returned, there was no sign of them. The location they chose was odd… the sand you see is where we normally have an above-ground pool, so instead of a grassy area, they chose the one place with the least amount of cover to mate. Thank you once again for the prompt response!
large, the size of a hummingbird, black, flying, fat
July 10, 2010
I was watering plants and this large bug lands on one of the flowers. I thought it was a hummingbird at first glance, but then it looked too insect-like. It’s large and black, smooth (not hairy), and has fast-moving wings
Curious and Confused
Pleasanton, California
female Valley Carpenter Bee
Dear Curious and Confused,
This is a Carpenter Bee, and based on your California location, we suspect it is a female Valley Carpenter Bee.
¶ Posted 11 July 2010 § ‡ ° What’s with this honeybees feet
July 1, 2010
Hi, I was photographing local honey bees and I was wondering what is on their feet. They look like yellow paddles. First image is the full photo and the second is a 100% crop to show the feet.
Thank you.
Terry L
Fond du Lac, WI United States
Honey Bee
Hi Terry,
First we must compliment you on the high quality and excellent detail and composition of your photograph. We suspect the yellow paddles are parts of flowers that became dislodged as the Honey Bee gathered nectar and pollen, but we are getting a second opinion on this. We hope to hear back with something conclusive from Eric Eaton.
Close Up of Honey Bee feet with Milkweed Pollenia
Daniel,
Thank You.
They were feeding on milkweed flowers for the most part. I did notice at one point, one of the bees was stuck on a milkweed flower for about thirty seconds.
Terry
Eric Eaton confirms our suspicions:
Daniel:
Your hunch was dead on: Those are milkweed “pollenia,” very sticky. So sticky, in fact, that sometimes insects are unable to leave the flower and they die. I’m not sure how this mechanism evolved for milkweed pollination.
Eric
¶ Posted 01 July 2010 § ‡ ° Native Bee News Story from Maui
June 28, 2010
Aloha Daniel -
Here’s a story from yesterday’s paper for your enjoyment.
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/532853.html?nav=10
Happy summer.
Eliza
¶ Posted 29 June 2010 § ‡ ° Pile of 2500 bees on the road
June 23, 2010
We found this CRAZY large pile of bees on the side of the road in SE Portland on June 22. There was also a group of them on a branch in a bush nearby, but not so large as the group on the ground. They were very busy, did not seem agitated or aggressive, and gave the impression that they had business to do there. Have you ever seen such a thing? What are they doing? It was our first warm, non rainy day in a long time… maybe they were basking in the sun like all the other Portlanders! PS – I have read your site for years and am excited to finally have something I think is worthy of posting!
Amanda G
Portland, OR
Honey Bee Swarm
Hi Amanda,
We are quite pleased with your submission. It is the first new posting we are making since returning from our holiday in Ohio (though we believe, prior to leaving, we postdated two letters to go live today). These Honey Bees are swarming. When the hive gets too large, the workers will begin raising a new group of queens by feeding ordinary larvae on a special diet of royal jelly. The reigning queen departs from the hive with half of the workers prior to the emergence of the heir apparent. You witnessed a swarm of Honey Bees in search of a new location for their hive. While we are uncertain why the Bees have congregated on the road, the small group in the tree are probably protecting the queen.
Honey Bee Swarm: Protecting the Queen
¶ Posted 23 June 2010 § ‡ ° Long bee on Vitex in Athens, GA
June 11, 2010
I watch bees all the time, and I have never seen this one before. I found it on my Vitex tree on June 10th at 4pm. I live in Athens, Ga.
Chezron
Athens, GA
Oops I forgot on Long bee from Athens, GA
He was as long as a carpenter bee but nearly half as wide. I have never seen any bee with these proportions.
Chezron
Athens, GA
Giant Resin Bee
Hi Chezron,
Your bee is a Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis. 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.“
Carpenter Bee’s?
June 8, 2010
They have moved into my birdhouse which had birds in it until recently. I noticed them about a week ago. I thought they were bumble bees considering they were creating a nest within a fully prepped bird nest.
Looking at your website they have the black spot in the upper body, but the abdomen is not shiny as usually referenced (carpenter bees) and they don’t seem so solitary. I keep missing the picture when more are sitting out on the outside.
Just wondering if they will let me mow the lawn. Every time I venture within 6 ft they come outside and eyeball me. (haha)
dglover
Oklahoma City, OK
Bumble Bees
Dear dglover,
These are definitely Bumble Bees in the genus Bombus, but we are not certain of the species, because as you can see on BugGuide, many species look similar. We have received reports in the past of Bumble Bees nesting in an abandoned bird house. Bumble Bees are not aggressive, though the possibility always exists that they might sting.
Mr. Marlos,
Thank you so much for your response! I was really wafting back and forth on these bees. I have some random spider and wasp pictures also - if you guys want to look at them and possibly use them. Really good Black Widow and Wolf Spider w/egg sac also.
I hope you have a fabulous week!
Dee
Thanks for the offer Dee, but right now our mailbox has far too many letter for us to respond to, and we are culling the most interesting letters and photos for posting. Your Bumble Bee image and letter were both wonderful.
Metallic Green Insect
May 24, 2010
Curious to know what this handsome bug is–his most outstanding feature is his vivid green color.
Evelyn Wolfer
Joshua, Texas (South Fort Worth)
Sweat Bee
Dear Evelyn,
There are several genera of Sweat Bees in the family Halictidae that have green metallic coloration, and we really haven’t the necessary skills to differentiate the genera much less the species. BugGuide breaks down the categories quite nicely should you choose to pursue additional research.
rss
I like This
