Bombus ID
Sat, 03/29/2008 - 20:24 — KiminMaryland
I have several photos of bumblebees in my photo album at http://toomuchstuff.typepad.com/photos/my_garden/index.html
These are located in central Maryland. Can anyone tell me what the species is?
Thank you!
Kim
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Your two "bumble" bees
Kim, In your photo caption for "Bumble 2" (http://toomuchstuff.typepad.com/photos/my_garden/2006_bumble_02.html), you comment: "Maybe the same bee, who knows?", comparing it to your photo "Bumble 1" (http://toomuchstuff.typepad.com/photos/my_garden/2006_bumblebee.html).
They are the same individual bee; look at the pattern of the pollen grains on the face and side of thorax --exact same patterns of grain distribution.
Also, it's likely that "Bumble 2" was taken after "Bumble 1"; check your photos' metadata dates/times.
PAR
You know, I think you might
You know, I think you might be right! I didn't even really notice. When I take photos in my garden, I tend to take lots - like 100 or so. The only thing is about these bees, an earlier post says they are carpenter bees. I just wish someone would reply to my other post on this thread about the bigger bees I THOUGHT were carpenter bees.
These guys, in the two photos, are slower moving, docile bees. They let me get very close and don't mind me at all. The bigger bees, that's another story.
Carpenter Bee?
Hmmmmmmm. I thought they were bumble bees, but now I see the abdomen is not hairy. These bees are about 3/4 of an inch in length. I guess the reason I got confused is we have what I THOUGHT were carpenter bees - they hover (and fight over territory) in the spring. They have almost completly destroyed my neighbor's fence. They drill up into the support and then go horizontal for a few inches. These bees are more like 1.75 inches in size and maybe up to 2 inches. They move in quick darting movements and hover around the fence where I guess their nests are. The bee in the picture moves slowly and lazily and is very docile.
Any idea what the bigger bees could be? They look very much like this one, just MUCH bigger.
Bumble Bee
I think what you have there is a Eastern Carpenter Bee, check out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Carpenterbee.jpg
Ken Ograin, LCBA
Another Question
Ken,
Thanks for the ID. Because sometimes the replys thread up and sometimes down, I think my other question got buried.
I see these bees all the time, all summer long. They are really docile, almost to the point of letting you handle them. They are about an inch long. I also have bees I see only in spring. They look like these but are much larger - over 1.5 inches in size and aggressive. They "fight" with each other and never approach the flowers. They also will buzz any human that comes nearby. Are the larger ones the males and the smaller ones the female carpenter bee? If so, why do the males disappear so early in the year - I thought they might be guarding a nest, but maybe they are a different species? I'd love to know.
One more thing - at our old house a county away, we had the smaller version, and lots of them, but never the larger ones. The larger ones here hang around a wooden picket fence, and I've not seen them anywhere else. Thanks!
Thanks!
Kim
Very large bee ?
Kim,
Maybe the larger early Spring bees are 1+ inch-long queen bumblebees (while the later summer bumblebees are the smaller -- 3/4-inch or so-- workers) ?
Nutritional history can influence the sizes of individual, but generally the queens will be larger than the workers.
But, 1 1/2" to 2" long seems VERY (too?) big. ...maybe a ruler measurement, and a photo ?
PAR
Well, the larger bees are
Well, the larger bees are there ONLY in the spring. They hover around the picket fence and seem to fight. They have bald abdomens. I've seen them only in spring and only around an old fence, and I've never seen them visit flowers. I assumed they were carpenter bees since they seem to hang around the fence. Oh, and they do have a bright yellow spot on their faces. The smaller bees I see in the summer. They are lazy, slow moving and docile and look somewhat like smaller versions of the ones I see in spring. I've never seen them go near the fence - they just visit flowers and leave.
The larger bees really are upwards of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches. The slower ones in the summer that visit flowers are more like 3/4 of an inch.
I try to avoid the bigger ones, they will buzz up right in front of your face and divebomb your head if you don't stay away from the fence. And they seem to "fight" with each other.
Eastern Carpenter Bee
Oh yes, looks familiar. We have them boring into the exterior trim of our house. The sawdust mixed with a waxy substance is kicked out onto the sides of the house and makes a big mess on the windows and wood siding. Can someone tell us what we can do to deter them. I assume these are also pollinators. I would like not to have to kill them but they are damaging our house. Every year they come. Killing them seems pointless.