A late afternoon trip up to Queendown Warren produced good numbers of bumblebees and the common Brown butterflies, but was disappointing for Chalkhill and the other Blues.
Firstly were the Cuckoo Bumblebees, and here are two versions of Bombus vestalis or Bombus bohemicus, the first version with only one yellow thoracic band, and the second version with a thinner band in the middle of the abdomen.
Here is the first version. If it is Bombus vestalis, it is probably a fairly worn specimen, as the yellow patches are now quite small and indistinct. These are all the same bee. The wings look a little worn and tawdry, and not strikingly brown, although clearly brown tinged especially on the veins. This would all fit with a Bombus vestalis that has been around the block a couple of times.
Frustratingly once again I cannot tell for sure whether it is a male or a female! If I had to make a decision I would think it is a male vestalis in which the antennal segment A3 is much shorter than the A5, but I really cannot be certain. I think this only applies to males, and is well seen in one of the photos on http://www.bwars.com/index.php?q=bee/apidae/bombus-vestalis.
This is the second version, with a slight yellow band on the abdomen. Again these photos are all the same bee. In this individual I would have said that the wings are rather browner than the bee above.
Firstly were the Cuckoo Bumblebees, and here are two versions of Bombus vestalis or Bombus bohemicus, the first version with only one yellow thoracic band, and the second version with a thinner band in the middle of the abdomen.
Here is the first version. If it is Bombus vestalis, it is probably a fairly worn specimen, as the yellow patches are now quite small and indistinct. These are all the same bee. The wings look a little worn and tawdry, and not strikingly brown, although clearly brown tinged especially on the veins. This would all fit with a Bombus vestalis that has been around the block a couple of times.
Frustratingly once again I cannot tell for sure whether it is a male or a female! If I had to make a decision I would think it is a male vestalis in which the antennal segment A3 is much shorter than the A5, but I really cannot be certain. I think this only applies to males, and is well seen in one of the photos on http://www.bwars.com/index.php?q=bee/apidae/bombus-vestalis.
This is the second version, with a slight yellow band on the abdomen. Again these photos are all the same bee. In this individual I would have said that the wings are rather browner than the bee above.
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