Tricolored Bumble Bee (Bombus ternarius)
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you will already know that I like to take photographs of bees. A couple of days ago I noticed that there were bees on the dandelion flowers (earlier than usual this spring), so of course I had to take some photos. One bee had a bright orange stripe around its body and was unlike any bumble bee I have ever seen before.
It turns out this bee is a tricolored bumble bee, also sometimes called “orange-belted” for obvious reasons. Even though I have never seen a bee with an orange stripe before, it is supposedly a fairly common bumble bee in the northern United States. It is a large bee… males and worker bees can be up to half an inch in length, and the queens are even larger at more than 3/4-inch. They are considered to be superior pollinators because they will collect pollen even in cold or wet weather… and it was cool and damp the day these photographs were taken.
The queen comes out of hibernation in late April or early May and spends hours collecting pollen and looking for a suitable underground nest site. Once a site has been chosen, she secretes wax to make the nest where she lays her eggs, and a “honey pot” for the storage of nectar. The eggs hatch into worm-like larva in three or four days, become pupae, and spend fourteen days developing their adult tissue. After two or three more days they have their adult coloration, their wings have hardened, and they can fly. These are the worker bees, and their only job is to collect nectar and pollen and store it in the nest.
Meanwhile the queen starts to lay more eggs. Until late summer she will lay only unfertilized eggs that will become males. After that she will lay only eggs that will become new queens. Before the end of the season, these new queens must mate and find their own underground hibernation spots where they will remain dormant until the next spring, when the entire cycle starts again.
It’s a short life for the old workers and the males… they and the old queen will all die by mid-autumn.
Written by Shirley | Filed Under Enjoying Nature, Voluntary Simplicity
Comments
Comment by linda:
those pics are just so beautiful!
Comment by :::::::::::: wife mom maniac :::::::::::::
ah, I see these often in my Canadian West Coast garden, they are friendly bees too, sometimes I pet them!
Comment by Shirley:
And I thought I was the only one who did that…!!!
Comment by kate:
Hi Shirley,
I stumbled upon your blog, via this post on bees. I was trying to find out who these funky bees were in our yard, and you had the most lovely photos and just enough information to answer the children’s questions about these giant, orange belted bees!
I was intrigued by your writing style and knowledge, and I ended up (accidentally) spending a couple hours reading through many of your posts. I just wanted to tell you that I really love your blog! Your writing is delightful, your photos are gorgeous and the content is fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with the world! I have added you to my ‘favorites’.
kate
Comment by Shirley:
Thank you so much for taking the time to write and for your very kind comments. I’m glad you are enjoying my blog and that your question about the tricolored bees led you to it. It’s funny, because I had never seen one of those bees here before I wrote that post. Now I’m seeing them all the time. I wonder… is it me… or them?
Please leave a comment!