Bombus Mixtus: This Bee Needs a Home!

As we were working in the Mount Pleasant Community Garden just before supper, we noticed this bumblebee queen sunning herself in a corner of a garden plot. The air was turning cold, and it felt like we might be in for a storm. How I wish she had a cozy little home to shelter inside! Now I am really motivated to make a bumblebee home. (See the post below.) I believe this shaggy bee is Bombus Mixtus. Notice the reddish hairs on her legs--something I've noticed in this species. Is it my imagination or are her wings a tad more reddish in hue than other Bombus? I dug a little divet near her with my pinky finger for a bit of shelter and she waved her arm at me--a classic defense warning: "Don't get too close, lady, or I'll sting you!" For those looking for help identifying Vancouver bees, check out this page by Dr. Elizabeth Elle at Simon Fraser University. She describes B. mixtus as a "boring" bee. I beg to differ! I think she's a shaggy beauty. And check out that mohawk!

We watched a mason bee working in a condo installed on the southeastern side of the garden shed. She needed to stop and sun herself every few minutes to stay warm enough to work. She will tuck herself inside an empty tunnel tonight as the storm passes through the city.

Blogging for Bees: What I Saw in My BackYard Today

I have about four more weeks of heavy slogging in this process of writing a book, and so although I am exhausted, I do feel hopeful. Thanks to all the people who have been helping me through this intense birthing process. It's time to start blogging more often and gardening again, which I am REALLY looking forward to this year. I am challenging myself to blog as often as I can over the next four weeks in anticipation of being (somewhat) liberated from my computer after that. So here we go, blogging for bees!

Today's bee is a Vozzy queen sipping nectar at these large pink rhodo flowers. I saw a Griseocollis queen out yesterday which is very early for that species here, so I wonder if she was awakened early by someone's enthusiastic gardening, that may have disturbed her hibernaculum. I know gardeners in Vancouver are itching to get their hands in the compost, so they may find a sleepy queen looking for a new home for the year. After some consideration, I have decided to create an artificial nesting site for bumblebees in my garden with this simple design from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Hartley-Botanic in the UK. It looks like it may work well, but I'm already suspicious that skunks and raccoons could easily dig out the nest and I'm trying to think about how that could be prevented.

First Bumblebee Queen Sighting of 2014

Doesn't winter leave you hungry for color?
Doesn't it make you thankful for all those sweet gardeners who planted crocuses for the bees?

Just as I was wondering if there really is pollen in these crocuses, a bumblebee queen emerged with the answer to my question covering her head and thorax. Pollen? Affirmative! The rhododendrons are starting to bloom, along with pieris japonica and lungwort. Our local pussywillows should be just about to produce pollen. I saw lots of flower buds on my gingko walk today: plum, japonica, red flowering currant, and forsythia. Those crocuses are going to fade quickly and new buds on the block about to break out in bloom, so make sure you get outside and enjoy every bit of it.