[Leica] IMG: Bumble Bee With Unusual Markings

[Marty Deveney]

It's a leafcutter bee (*Megachile *sp.) - the smooth striped upper abdomen
is a giveaway.  They are also generally paler yellow than honey bees.
They have pronounced black and pale yellow stripes with pollen-carrying
hairs on the underside of their abdomen, are medium sized (~10mm) and
collect pollen but don’t produce honey. They live in nests, in crevices,
burrows, and hollow twigs.  They can sting but it isn’t as severe as a
honey bee sting. If we could see its face you would see large mandibles for
slicing leaves.

Marty

On Thu, Aug 19, 2021 at 9:30 AM Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> On 8/18/21 5:20 PM, Don Dory via LUG wrote:
> > It just means the bee community has spread the word about the quality of
> > your pollen that even alien bees come to visit.
> >
> > On Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 2:02 PM Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net>
wrote:
> >
> >> By noon, the Rose of Sharon blooms were about half closed, but a few
> >> bees were still working. I caught this large black bee departing a
> >> partially closed bloom.  As I looked at the image on my computer
screen,
> >> I realized that the markings were unusual. It was not a Carpenter Bee,
> >> our most common variety, but was thin-waisted and had two thin, fuzzy
> >> yellow bands on the abdomen.  Searches online were not helpful.  I
> >> assume it is some form of Bumble Bee, but the name eludes me.
> >>
> >>
> >>
http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20210818-P8180301-Enhanced.JPG.html
> >>
> >> X-E1 with 50-200 and monopod.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Jim Nichols
> >> Tullahoma, TN USA
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> --
> Jim Nichols
> Tullahoma, TN USA
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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