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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2015 16:46:42 GMT
#159 is supping on a milkweed plant, its chief food source.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 14:07:51 GMT
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Post by htmb on May 25, 2015 14:24:42 GMT
Oh! That's a good one.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 25, 2015 16:40:33 GMT
Yes indeed -- an excellent capture!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 25, 2015 16:53:40 GMT
Beautiful pic Kerouac. Next Sunday I'm going on a guided bumblebee walk at Leicester University Botanical Gardens. I don't know what we'll see at this time of year, all I've seen so far in the garden is a tiny red tailed bumble bee and a few common carder bees.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 25, 2015 19:44:08 GMT
Can't wait to see the bee portraits you bring back, Cheery. I think you're the only person here who can identify bees. *impress*
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 26, 2015 8:34:36 GMT
tbh there are about three or four species of bumblebee that are very difficult to tell apart...so I'm hoping that the bee walk will involve tips on how to differentiate between them.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 3, 2015 18:24:22 GMT
Howdo chaps. I went on the Bumblebee-Walk last weekend didn't take any pics because I was busy catching bees in a little clear plastic box and learning how to identify them properly. There were 10 of us on the walk, a couple of younger women in their mid thirties and the rest of us over 50 Initially Maggy, the group leader, gave us a little talk about what to look for and gave us all a little bug box for catching specimens. The idea was to catch the bumblebee, identify it with her help make a note of what it was and then release it. She recorded the species of bumblebee and the sex, the plant it was found on and the time on a little chart. Maggie is one of many volunteers who each walk a particular route three or four times per year recording what is found, then she sends the information to bumblebee conservation organisations so that they can see if there are any species in cisis etc. I was quite surprised how many we saw and caught, considering it has been quite a cold spring. I got very excited when I caught a CUCKOO bumblebee as I've always wanted to be able to identify them...each of the common species of bumblebee in the UK has a lookeelikee cuckoo bumblebee...these parasitise the nests of their hosts...I caught a male bombus rupestris a species that parasitises (is that even a word?) bombus lapidarius nests (more commonly known as the red tailed bumblebee) I got to keep my bee-catching-box so I've been catching bees at home to identify too. Fab
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 3, 2015 22:04:04 GMT
Oh -- fascinating, Cheery! Isn't it hard to catch a bee? Do you sneak up on them when they're working the flowers?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 4, 2015 16:51:26 GMT
It isn't difficult Bixa, but you have to creep up on your target whilst it is on a flower and gently enclose it in the box without trapping any of it's bits....they are quite robust and seem to cope pretty well. They are only kept in the box for a minute whilst they are identified and then released (opening the box AWAY from you.)....some of them get a bit cross but for the most part they are quite docile.
I reckon that I catch about one in three that I go after....hope to start taking photos soon...
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 4, 2015 17:19:24 GMT
incidentally...the bumblebee lady said that it's almost impossible to tell 3 of the commoner species of bumblebee apart without microscopic examination of their genitalia. ooer...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 4, 2015 17:35:06 GMT
Now be careful you don't develop squint wrinkles!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 4:58:33 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jun 21, 2015 20:09:48 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 21, 2015 22:45:23 GMT
You all are taking 3-D pictures! Wonderful closeup by Kerouac, and exquisitely romantic shot by Htmb.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2015 12:39:02 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jul 7, 2015 13:29:13 GMT
Very nice, Kerouac.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 10, 2015 19:20:26 GMT
In the garden today... b.hortorum becoming quite scarce these days b.terrestris(probably)
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Post by htmb on Jul 10, 2015 19:23:02 GMT
Excellent, cheery! Did you temporarily capture any of the bees to have a closer look?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 10, 2015 19:53:39 GMT
Thanks htmb The flower bed is quite small so it's easy to watch the bees quite closely without disturbing them...they don't seem to mind. I don't catch them unless I need to have a closer look.
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Post by htmb on Jul 10, 2015 19:55:04 GMT
Well. Your pics are super.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2015 19:57:07 GMT
Those pictures are stunning, Cheery!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 10, 2015 20:05:39 GMT
That's very kind both (not as good as yorn Kerouac..you clever thing you )
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 10, 2015 20:11:28 GMT
AND...htmb I really love the blue scabious in your bee pic too...is that a honey bee? Is that pic taken in your garden?
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Post by htmb on Jul 10, 2015 20:13:27 GMT
Thanks, Cheery. My most recent pollinator pics were taken in Paris.
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Post by htmb on Jul 11, 2015 19:17:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 16:12:52 GMT
So nice to see something other than those nasty bees, htmb!
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Post by htmb on Jul 13, 2015 22:08:28 GMT
Actually, I did forget to post this one.
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Post by htmb on Jul 18, 2015 20:13:27 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 19, 2015 6:42:30 GMT
Crass Bixa came to this thread to add a picture, so is finally taking a look at the wonderful examples by her betters. I'm also enjoying the variety of flowers the pollinators are pollinating. That's particularly impressive in your group of pictures, Cheery, as you actually selected and grew that array. I particularly love your daisy, Htmb, & your bright borage, Kerouac. Here are my additions to the althea category ~
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