Posts Tagged: queen bumble bee

A New Year and a First Bumble Bee

What an unexpected find! It was the first day of 2013 and what did we see: a queen bumble bee,  Bombus melanopygus, aka black-tailed bumble bee. Like scores of others, we decided to take a walk on Jan. 1 in the Benicia State Recreation Area....

A queen black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heading for manzanita blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A queen black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heading for manzanita blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Long tongue of the queen bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, sipping nectar from manzanita. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Long tongue of the queen bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, sipping nectar from manzanita. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Queen bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Queen bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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