The Bumble Bees of McLoughlin Cottage

 

Bombus melanopygus on Nootka Rose

It is such a privilege to be in residence at the McLoughlin Gardens in June when the roses and snowberry are blooming and the gardens buzzing with bumble bees. Most of the bumble bees I'm seeing now are workers, with a few early males out and about, and maybe one or two late queens. 

Bombus flavifrons resting on a common snowberry leaf

The snowberry performs a very important function in the production of nectar over several weeks, even months.  This is particularly important to feed the adult bees and give them the energy to collect pollen. Roses only provide pollen, so having roses and snowberry together in the garden provides good synergy for pollinators. It's so sweet to hear the little bumble bee workers vibrating the stamens in the roses to access the pollen.  This yellow-fronted bumble bee was taking a well-deserved rest from nectaring on common snowberry.

Bombus vancouverensis vancouverensis on California lilac

When I first arrived, the California lilac was at peak bloom and bumble bees love to scramble over the purple blossoms collecting pollen.  You can see the lovely pollen load here on this Vancouver Island bumble bee worker. She's mixed a bit of bee spit with the pollen to give it this putty-like consistency.

Bombus occidentalis on foxglove

I was thrilled to see western bumble bees here as they can be a vulnerable species. I'll keep an eye out for more of them, but so far I've only seen two individuals with their sweet white bee butts. You can just see some grains of white pollen deposited by the foxglove on the thorax of this bee.

Bombus mixtus on Nootka rose

The fuzzy-horned bumble bees are the most plentiful here, so there are likely one or more nests close by. They love the snowberry and the Nootka roses. Their buzz pollination adds punchy notes and rhythm to the natural soundscape here at the cottage.

Bombus sitkensis on common snowberry

It's also wonderful to see the Sitka bumble bees here. They are true generalists, but they seem to be the species that loves the white cultivated roses the best. The scent of these roses are intoxicating. And you'll see them filling up on nectar in the snowberry as well.

Bombus vosnesenskii on creeping buttercup

I've only seen one runty yellow-headed bumble bee here, which is why this photo is not up to par. It was in a flower that I admit I love to hate, that darned creeping buttercup. Well, at least it's good for something! As far as Island bumble bees go, I'm missing the Bombus californicus and the cuckoo bumble bee species. Of course, I've uploaded these bumble bee observations to our BC Native Bee tracker Project on iNaturalist. Let's see how many bees we can identify while I'm here.