Bombus spp. Discovery! (OK - Bumble Bees in the Partridge Peas)

Female Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens)

 

Early mornings are about the only time I can get out into the pastures here and find good wildflower and insect images in August…plants are heavy with dew and (if you’re lucky) the wind isn’t blowing things around so badly. Recently, after photographing the native forbs (wildflowers) for a couple hours, I was about to head back to the studio because the breeze was now picking up, making the wildflower shots not so interesting. But I had one final self-assignment in mind - the Partridge Pea.

We have an amazing stand of Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) this summer, and I stopped to see what I could get before turning in for the morning. The mound I stopped at was alive with sound! Bumble Bees everywhere, on a feeding frenzy! The morning sun had cut through much of the dew so the blossoms were no longer drenched; the bees were taking advantage of the trove of pollen, now unlocked for the taking. 

Female Brownbelted Bumble Bee (Bombus griseocollis)

The genus Bombus - Bumble Bees. “Bombus” sounds so cool, and what bee is more cool than our native Bumble Bees?! 

Female Brownbelted Bumble Bee (Bombus griseocollis)

 

 

I have gotten better about delving in a bit more in recent years - identifying different insects as they present themselves here in the native prairie pastures. But I still have a long way to go.

 

Female American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus)

I got a few “fair” images of some Bumble Bees in the Partridge Peas, and decided to see if I could identify their specific names. I found some great information on the Xerces.org web site for Bumble Bees in our region of NW Iowa - they’d have information of any other regions as well. Iowa’s Bumble Bees can be found at - https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-028_01_BB-of-Iowa_3FOLDbrochure_web.pdf

 

Female American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) - honing in on it’s next Partridge Pea target!

Yet even with the pdf chart provided by the Xerces Society, I was still hesitant to claim identities of each one I photographed successfully. I then came across a great Face Book site that is open for public participation, and I highly recommend it…they encourage interested folks like me to reach out and learn more.

Female American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) - target acquired!

 

Thank you to Judy Cardin - Admin of the Wisconsin/Midwest Bumble Bee Observers Face Book page, for her help and encouragement. I got a boost in Bombus spp. knowledge, and look forward to begin learning about all our Bumble Bee friends out here on the prairie!

Thanks for stopping by! Please be good to one another…we’re all in this together.

Dog Days...

Backwater - Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

August has arrived...it should still be June as far as I'm concerned but then what I think won't change things so that's that.  I am looking forward to some time...maybe by mid Autumn, that my time will not be tied to deadlines so much and I can once again slow down...take a guiltless nap every once and a while...just stroll around the pasture or down the road with no goal in mind - just chill out and relax.  Boy that actually sounds good!

In the mean time I'm still prepping for a solo showing in early October at the Pearson's Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, Iowa...I'll throw out more information closer to the date though.  

I've been really struggling with a landscape here in the studio that did a number on me...but I haven't removed it from the easel yet...maybe I haven't given up on it yet?  That happens; I'm sure I'm not the only person that has run into this dilemma and it won't be my last either I know.

 

 Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

One thing comes about out here when August rolls around - things are visibly transitioning.  The early to mid summer flowers are finishing up...the Compass plants and Cup Plants are all in flower and maturing, goldenrods are starting to bloom, the liatris are beginning to move along too, the prairie clovers are about done, and the warm season grasses are in flower or early stages of putting on seed.  It's still mid summer (I don't want to rush things) and the prairie is "Pollinator Heaven" right now...and of course the hotter it gets out there - the happier the pollinators seem to be!
 

Many types of Bumble Bees are busy pollinating 

the Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) blossoms

photographs - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

A member of the Bacchini sub-family

of Hover Flies (family Syrphidae)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

A member of the Hover Flies family (Syrphidae)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

 Painted Lady pollinating a Wild Bergamot

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

The Culver's Root here was a big hit one evening down on the pasture...we had lost a good clump to the new septic fields we had installed but thankfully there are still enough to go around here.  We had everything from wasps to Bumble Bees to all kinds of Hover Flies...many of which are quite different looking!

photographs - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

When you have a lot of pollinators out and about you also get some predator activity, and August is a particularly good time to see all types of spiders out working their webs - especially great to see in the early morning dew.

Pale Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens pallida)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

We also have a couple mid summer woodland types of native flowers blooming here in the north grove right now.  One plant I've seen repeatedly each summer and never caught it in bloom is really putting on a good show right now, and certainly welcomed by the local pair of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds nesting in the yard!  They are commonly referred to as "Jewel Weed"; the type we have here are the Pale Touch-Me-Not - a fun plant to show kids when the seed's ready to disperse!  Just touch a ripe seed pod and "POP" the sheath snaps open and the seed goes flying! This is a fun plant to collect seed from.

 

White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

Our other mid summer woodland bloomer is the White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima), a fairly common plant even in disturbed areas...which doesn't surprise me seeing it in the old grove remnant here. Its a great plant for pollinators and lasts well into Fall.

I hope to get out more, not fuss so much about what's taunting me on the easel, and enjoy what summer we still have to enjoy...the bugs aren't so bad right now too so what better reason to get out there!

Thank you for stopping by and visiting the blog - be sure and click on any of the photos for a larger view - Have a Great Summer and see you on the Tallgrass!!!