Posts Tagged: Bombus occidentalis

Look Out, Franklin's Bumble Bee, They're Coming for You!

Look out, Franklin's bumble bee, they're coming for you! The question is: Where are you? Have you managed to "hide" all these years or are you extinct? A “search party” of scientists and citizen scientists is forming to look for Franklin's...

Bumble bee expert Robbin Thorp of UC Davis with his computer screen showing a photo he took of Franklin's bumble bee, now feared extinct. He last saw it on Aug. 9, 2006 in a meadow near Mt. Ashland. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bumble bee expert Robbin Thorp of UC Davis with his computer screen showing a photo he took of Franklin's bumble bee, now feared extinct. He last saw it on Aug. 9, 2006 in a meadow near Mt. Ashland. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is the Western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, found Aug. 15, 2012 by Mt. Shasta. It is on the endangered list. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is the Western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, found Aug. 15, 2012 by Mt. Shasta. It is on the endangered list. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western Bumble Bee Making a Comeback

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. The Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) seems to be making a comeback of sorts in some parts of the West. Reporter Michelle Nijhuis, in an Oct. 14th article in High Country News, wrote that this species  was...

This Western bumble bee was found on Mt. Shasta on Aug. 15, 2012. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This Western bumble bee was found on Mt. Shasta on Aug. 15, 2012. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of Western bumble bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of Western bumble bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eureka! A Western Bumble Bee

Many of us in California have never seen the Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) Many of us never will. Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, worries about the declining...

Close-up of a male Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) found Aug. 15 at Mt. Shasta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a male Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) found Aug. 15 at Mt. Shasta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Another view of the male Western bumble bee found on Mt. Shasta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Another view of the male Western bumble bee found on Mt. Shasta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Documenting the rare find. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Documenting the rare find. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp is a retired UC Davis professor, but continues his full-time research. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp is a a retired UC Davis professor, but continues his full-time research. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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