Bombus affinis: a "rara apis" Spotted in Illinois
Bombus affinis / Rusty patched bumble bee
The citizen beespotter program at the uiuc, in it's first year, has had a positive ID of a bumble bee not seen in Illinois for many years.
What a great project to get the many eyes(and cameras) of the public working to understand where and which bees live in Illinois.
Beespotter has a website where Topics range from How to take a good photo of a bee ,
To
Designing A Bee Garden .
Once you join even if you have no pictures to add (yet) you can view pictures taken by other beespotters and identified by university staff.
I have added a couple of photos of bumble bees to the site and intend to add many more this coming year. Orland Grassland, where a prairie restoration is underway, should be a bee haven.
Check it out and if you live or visit Illinois, take a few pictures of the bees you encounter, then share.
Bees at pollinators-welcome
posted by Gloria at 10:55 AM
4 Comments:
My most favourite species by far is the bee......the one in the photograph is an absolute beauty....what a wonderful scheme......
Hi Cheryl, I like to see bees in the garden,especially bumble bees. They are a really good sign of healthy garden practices and they are fun to watch.
I can't recommend the beespotter program highly enough. I had so much fun trying to check off different species last summer. When I took the Bombus affinis photos above, I had no idea what a stir they would cause. It has been a fun ride! As a landscape architect who works on a mainly residential scale, I hope to encourage my clients to plant for (and appreciate) pollinators.
-Johanna James-Heinz
Johanna James-Heinz, good to hear from you! What great bee pictures you are taking.I'll be sure to check for new offerings.
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