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Index of Subjects This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------_=_NextPart_001_01CC1F20.08FF5271 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Bev's photo is a queen _Bombus ternarius_. Once you see the red on the = abdomen the next feature to look for is the backward pointing arrow of = black on the thorax. This photo shows it clearly. The other species in Nova Scotia with red on the abdomen is _B. = rufocinctus_. In this species the dark mark on the thorax is rounded, = not with a pointed back end. A bee with limited yellow on the abdomen could be _Bombus impatiens_. = This species is pale yellow and only the first segment of the abdomen is = yellow. On fresh specimens the black appears velvety because the hairs = are dens and short. There nine species of bumble bees that are regularly seen in Nova = Scotia. In addition there are 4 species of nest parasite bumble bees, = so about 13 species in total. I have a simple key that includes some = photos to assist in identification of NS bumble bees that is available = to anyone who would like it. There are some tricky identifications = (among B. sandersoni, perplexus and vagans for example), but most can be = done easily. It is not easy to ascertain populations of bumble bees at this time of = year. There are only queens now. Each queen attempts to start a nest. = Queens are large compared to the workers that will be around later in = the summer. The first workers are less than a third the size of the = queens. By mid-August the workers that emerge are much large, almost as = large as the queens. A successful nest will have a few hundred workers = in mid-August. Therefore seeing one bee now will translate into a few = hundred in late July, or not if the nest is not successful. _Bombus ternarius_ and _B. impatiens_ are two common species in Nova = Scotia now. When I moved to Nova Scotia in 1990 there were no records = of _B. impatiens_. This is a species that is and was common in southern = Ontario and southern Quebec. It is also used in greenhouses for = pollination. In the early 1990s _Bombus terricola_ was common, more = than 20% of all the bumble bees I saw in Cape Breton. In the past five = years I have seen fewer than 10 specimens, out of many hundreds of = bumble bees identified. The message here is that some bumble bees are = more common now and others are very rare compared to what they were less = than 20 years ago. Cory Sheffield has produced a very good checklist of the bees of Nova = Scotia and would be interested in hearing about which species of bees = are in various places in Nova Scotia. =20 If you are interested in a copy of the simple key for bumblebees, please = send me an email privately, I will send it to you. David McCorquodale Biology, Cape Breton University david_mccorquodale@cbu.ca -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca on behalf of bev@magickcanoe.com Sent: Mon 5/30/2011 11:19 AM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Bees =20 > Whereas my observations are strickly non scientific - has > anyone noticed a similar trend? =20 > Paul * I just have this year and last for comparison, but it does seem that = Bumblebees are plentiful this year. In particular, I've been seeing a = good number of what I believe to be Bombus ternarius (Tricolored = Bumblebees)on the dandelion around here. This is a photo of one taken = May 20, 2011. http://magickcanoe.com/bees/RH-bombus-ternarius.jpg There's another larger bee with an almost all black abdomen, which I'm = seeing a lot of as well. Not sure of the ID, but maybe B. impatiens. 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