Subject: Bumble Bee?
Location: Oshawa, Ontario
May 30, 2013 12:10 pm
Hi
I found this bee wobbling along my deck this afternoon, so moved him to safety onto a shrub. I’ve seen what I believe are Common Eastern Bumble Bees, but never one like this. Do you know what type of bee it is?
Thanks!
Signature: Sue
Dear Sue,
We will try to determine the correct species of this impressive Bumble Bee. We have postdated your submission to go live in early June to compensate for our absence during a holiday.
Thanks!
Later in the afternoon I saw another, same colours/pattern except fuzzy all over.
Sue
Correction: 12 June 2013
Thanks to a comment, we now realize this is a Carpenter Bee, not Bumble Bee
We suspect the bee Sue saw later that was fuzzy all over was most likely a Bumble Bee.
Almost certainly an eastern carpenter bee (which is why she was checking out your deck). Xylocopa virginica
Thanks for the correction. We adjusted the posting.
Oh, that’s what I was gonna talk about. In many cases, I cannot tell if it’s a bumble or a carpenter bee, is there any hint? In this case, I see the naked abdomen.