Bumblebee Sighting!

Bumblebees (Bombus) have been on the decline in the past decade in southern California. The Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) is one of the most oft-encountered pollinators found working in the garden. I love to say the words Bombus impatiens(BOM-bus im-PAY-shuns); the round soft sounds of the genus and species names rolls around the lips and off the tongue.Bombus is Latin for ‘”booming” or “buzzing.” Of course, a babbity buzzing bumble bee must surely be a Bombus! The binomial nomenclature for the Spanish poppy in the photograph, Wild Buckwheat or Eastern Mojave Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), too, is pleasurable to say aloud.

Bombus impatiens ranges across eastern North America from Ontario to Maine and south to Florida. It is more commonly found along the Atlantic coast and is much less common near the western edge of its range (eastern North Dakota, western Kansas, and eastern Texas). They are often confused with the Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa), which is characterized by a shiny black abdomen, the first abdominal section of the Common Eastern Bumble Bee is covered with yellow pile and the remaining segments with black pile. Members of the genus Bombus are generally covered in aposematically-colored pile, meaning long hairs in “warning” colors of black and yellow. As do their relatives the carpenter bee and honey bee, bumble bees form colonies, feed on nectar, build nests, and gather pollen to feed their young. Bombus impatiens typically nests below ground in preexisting holes, often using discarded rodent nests. Unlike a honey bee’s stinger, which is barbed, the bumble bee’s stinger is smooth and can be used over and over again. Usually, bumble bees present very little danger as they are typically non-aggressive and would rather not expend their energy manufacturing venom unless absolutely necessary. The loud buzzing sound bumble bees make is the result of vibrating its flight muscles, which it must do to warm up to become airborne at low ambient temperatures.

Regardless of how incredibly dry it has been on the west coast, it is good to see bumblebees around.