David
Element
Wildlife
Photography
and Digital
Video Images
_______________ Hymenoptera 11 - Bumblebees

VESTAL
CUCKOO BEE Bombus vestalis

CARDER BEE Bombus
pascuorum

MOSS CARDER BEE Bombus
muscorum

TREE BUMBLEBEE Bombus
hypnorum

WHITE-TAILED
BUMBLEBEE Bombus lucorum

LARGE RED-TAILED BUMBLEBEE Bombus
lapidarius

BUFF-TAILED
BUMBLEBEE Bombus terrestris
- The first illustration is of a
socially parasitic Vestal Cuckoo Bee Bombus
(Psithyirus) vestalis. The absence of any pollen
baskets on the hind legs is quite obvious in this
photograph. There are no worker bees and the queens of
this species will expel or kill the queen from a social Bombus
colony (for example B. terrestris) and
utilise the workers to rear their own offspring.
- Several British social
bumblebee species are shown although a number of other
equally worthy bees have been omitted because of space
limitations. Identification of even some of the commonest
bumblebees is not easy, particularly when the insects are
old and worn. The workers usually look like smaller
versions of the queens and some species show sexual
dimorphism. The pollen baskets are clearly in use in the Buff-tailed
Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
photograph. There are only six abundant species in
the UK and a number of the others are under significant
threat of extinction. Anyone with a particular interest
in bees and other hymenopterans should refer to the BWARS
(Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society)
website, particularly as the gallery of species
photographs: http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm has been significantly expanded
recently. The Moss Carder Bee Bombus
muscorum is a predominantly coastal and
rather rare species with a deep and rather distinctive
'hum'. The orange on the face of the Large
Red-Tailed Bumblebee Bombus
lapidarius is a dusting of pollen from the Red
Deadnettle Lamium purpureum
flowers shown in the photograph. The status of the
classification of Bombus lucorum
is currently under scrutiny as there may be as many as
three separate members of a species complex. If this
status is confirmed then this bee may be reclassified as Bombus
cryptarum. The most notable picture here is
of Bombus hypnorum, a very
recent arrival to the UK (2001) and an easy species to
identify (orange, black, white tricolour pattern from
head to tail). The photographer does not know whether the
vernacular name of Tree Bumblebee has
been officially adopted or not. Although most new insect
arrivals in Britain have been associated with the warming
climate this is not believed to be the case for B.
hypnorum as it has quite a northerly distribution in
Europe. This bee was photographed at Kew Gardens and it
has now been confirmed as the first member of its species
to be recorded there. The photographer was on a family
visit and he had just packed his equipment away when he
spotted it. Fortunately he was able to entrust the task
of keeping an eye on the bee to his daughter whilst
re-assembling his camera gear! The
first and last photographs were taken with a Nikon
D300 camera.
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© David
Element.