“Humble bee with scarf about his thick waist” R. Jefferies 1
Post-war, Bombus has linguistically evolved from an onomatopoeic flyer to a bungling aeronaut. Once a humble hummer, it is now a bumblebee but whatever the nomenclature, the 25 or so UK species require monitoring as at least 3 are in the shadow of extinction. 2
This week the Bumblebee Conservation Trust launched a new web tool for the UK public to visually record and learn to identify any of the various Bombus species that they see. The aim is to plot the geographical distribution of the UKs bumblebee population at Beewatch.
Obviously the above Bombus image is not ideal for ID purposes because the tail, an important distinguishing element, is visually lacking. What it does show however is that even young bumbles, with pollen grain dandruff, can rub themselves bald from all the comings and goings of nest site visits. 3
Wildlife Wednesday: other keen naturalists posting wildlife images on a Wednesday:
. Bush Bernie’s blog
. the Zen birdfeeder
Your image is so intriguing Laura. Yesterday I spotted a big, fat bumble on the Turk’s cap and was reminded that I’ve not seen so many this summer as last. I’m not sure why and it is worrisome. Neighbors on both sides of me liberally use pesticides and herbicides and I often wonder how it influences the wildlife in our little patch of the world. Good to know that people are becoming more knowledgeable worldwide on identification and preservation.
Cat read my post..Uber-Summer Begins…88 Days Until Fall
it’s the opposite here Cat – have never seen so many bumbles as recently. If your neighbours stopped by your blog, they might think twice about chemicals
How endearing the bumble, to draw all that information from quiet observation.
Elephant’s Eye read my post..In the pond grows, with June’s winter flowers
almost huggable!
Good information. I didn’t realize there were 3 bees close to extinction in the UK. I hope the new web tool is well utilized, and that the bees make a come back. I see lots of bees here, but am not knowledgeable on the different types. Just happy to see them!
HolleyGarden read my post..But, What If…..?
am wondering how many US bumbles there are
There has been a lot of attention lately on our honey bee population and rightly so because of worries about its health but our other native bees are just as important and in danger too with a loss of habitat. I bought an identification card recently but even with that its easier said than done to work out which are which. Good fun though! Great post and if it would stop raining I might get out and have a look for some.
wellywoman read my post..Garden Tour – Great Dixter
and if only they would stay still, ID would be easier
now you have started something Laura, as most of the bees I see have a white tail and years ago when I looked it up there was a white tail bumble bee, I thought! that is what I have most in my garden but no, after finding the ID page from your link I now know many bees have white tails but different other parts, varying numbers of yellow and black bands too, I’m going to keep a sharper eye on them from now on, thanks for info and link, Frances
Island Threads read my post..wildflower Wednesday
the variety of striped patterns is baffling but just need to upload images and the experts will identify. Look out for the Tree Bumblebee heading for Scotland!
What a coincidence, I just spent hours trying to photograph bees for my most recent blog post. I will add a link to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to my post. Thank you for the information.
and enjoying wildflowers on your balcony. (For some reason, your comment was picked up as spam – must double check in future)
Adorabumble bumbles! They are gritting their teeth through endless gales and dampness here, but still they are busy. Can you imagine a summer without them? I can’t. Lovely informative post Laura.
Judith read my post..oare hill,wiltshire
must be wearing rainproof coats Judith as have seen many more than honeybees
Humble-bees: I’ve never heard that term before. They are cute. I’ll have to join in the Wildlife Wednesday one of these days!
PlantPostings read my post..Plant of the month:Bearded Iris ‘Mme. Chereau’
Darwin always referred to them as humble-bees. Wildlife Wednesday is a loose meme without a central hub but we gardeners cannot help but bee naturalists too!
Lovely post! I have also seen more bumble bees in my garden this year than ever before, wonder if the type of weather we have had has anything to do with it – more rain might mean more flowers around in parks and waste land?
Helene read my post..The One Lovely Blog Award
am sure there are many more this year, Helene – perhaps they like rain
I am thrilled to hear that you have this website…these types of projects really do help and hopefully it may shed some light on the 3 bumbles that need help. You got me thinking and so I researched just in NY how many bees and bumbles are native to us. There are 477 native bees in NY and 14 different bumbles. Not sure in the US…on one site I counted 45…I will have to research this…and boy I do need to learn more about those 14 bumbles here in NY.
Donna@Gardens Eye View read my post..Simply The Best-June
What a variety! Look forward to a posting from you Donna on your newly acquired BombUS knowledge
I so like bee watch!. I could sit in the garden and watch them all day. Beautiful closeup too!
Donna read my post..It Had to Happen Sometime – ‘Beeware’ Fellow Petunias
thank you Donna -I see it’s a match with your post
I’ve counted at least 8 different types of bees (including 4 bumble bees) in our garden. In my head I sort of lump them all together, though, so there might be more.
I love the sound of bees buzzing around; to me that is so much the sound of summer, and I love sitting outside on a sunny day and listen to them buzzing around between the clovers in the lawn. (Definitely a good excuse not to mow the lawn too often; the bees seem to LOVE clovers…)
Flâneur Gardener read my post..Accidents – good and not so good