Friday Bee Blogging

The more I look at bumblebees the more apparently different species I find. Amazing! Below are three more I've managed to get photos of recently.

Bumblebee on raspberry flowers last week


Bumblebee on Rosa rugosa alba today--they love this rose!

Bumblebee on the wild bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia).
I think the last one is the same species as a couple that turned up in the house earlier in the season. Big, biggest of the three, all yellow back, noisy, scary. I've been trying to get a picture of one of these bees for days. Couldn't get a good shot of the back, but am publishing anyway!

And preparing to board the Friday Ark. Drop by to see who else made it on board.

Dying Bumblebee

I found this bumblebee sitting still for long moments, then moving around a little--all the better for photographing, but I think this was probably its last day.


I looked around to see if I could identify it--but no luck so far. And since I'm still not really familiar with bumblebee field marks, I didn't get all the pictures I should have to make identification easier.


The bee is on a dicentra (bleeding heart), not spectabilis, but a more modest, possibly wild variety. I'm attempting to confirm its identity as I write..... Okay, I'm pretty sure it's Dicentra eximia (fringed or wild bleeding heart). It's a very popular plant with the bees.

Wings, worn out