neylon 的最愛

Found sleeping in thistle right by the ravine. The "falling" photo is actually the bumble wedged between the stems when he fell from the underside of the thistle (ie he is in fact suspended and holding on, and not in free fall), before sleepily climbing back up onto the thistle. Quite small. I believe his coloration may be consistent with a male Bombus Suckleyi with light hair on T1 and T4.

Interesting behavior: appears to be attempted theft of pollen from the bumblebee worker by the honeybee. The honeybee was repeatedly landing on the bumblebee for at least a minute, and actually followed the bumblebee to a second flower on the bull thistle plant. On looking at the photos, it appears the honeybee worker was targeting the pollen clumps on the corbicula. She was not successful in removing an entire clump but did seem to be getting some of it off.

Fairly certain as to species ID, but curious what folks think about caste; looks like a queen to me, but from my limited sample size for queens (n=4) the visible rusty-patch is unusual. This individual was also quite small, closer to a large bimaculatus queen in size. I also saw affinis workers at this site and they were also unusually small compared to affinis workers I have seen at other sites in NE IL.

This is apparently a beetle attached to a bumble bee's proboscis (although it's not clear who is holding on to who). I first noticed the bumble bee laying on its back on a flower, apparently struggling weakly to right itself (second photo). After 15 or 20 seconds the bee got onto its feet and wandered around on the flower, looking less steady and less interested in collecting nectar/pollen than normal (third photo). It eventually flew off, still with the beetle attached to its head. Is the beetle a parasite or predator, or just somehow randomly stuck on, maybe feeding on a drop of nectar on the bee's proboscis?

Update: According to the Wikipedia article on Antherophagus ochraceus, "members of Cryptophagidae, engage in phoresy. The beetles are transported by attaching to the legs, mouthparts, or antennae of bumblebees. It remains attached by clamping down with its mandibles. It does not release until the bee returns to the nest. A. ochraceus adults lay eggs in bumblebee nests, where the eggs develop into larvae. In the larval stage, the beetles remain in the nest and eat organic matter and detritus. Specifically, they are presumed to consume honey, bee feces, and comb debris." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antherophagus_ochraceus).

Thanks to @neylon for pointing me in the right direction.

I got the identification from Beespotter. It might not be accurate. The location is a fishing pond on the grounds of a hotel in Galena, Illinois (Jo Daviess County). The hotel is on the edge of the city.

Bombus impatiens nectaring on Black Cohosh, Actaea racemosa This plant is visited in my yard by bumblebees and honeybees, but not the other smaller bees from what I have observed. Also some beetles attracted to the flowers