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*worker buff-tailed bumblebee*
(bombus terrestris)
‘camera’ –> Nikon D80, Tokina 100mm macro
‘exposure’ –> manual exposure. F/20, 1/125, ISO 100
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*aka “bumble bee”*
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*250 known species*
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*a bumblebee is a member of the genus bombus*
(part of ‘apidae’)
(1 of the ‘bee families’)
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(this ‘genus’ is the only ‘extant group’ in the tribe ‘bombini’, though a few ‘extinct related genera’ (e.g., calyptapis) are known from ‘fossils’)
(they are found primarily in higher ‘altitudes’ or ‘latitudes’ in the ‘northern hemisphere’, although they are also found in ‘south america’ where a few ‘lowland tropical species’ have been identified)
(‘european bumblebees’ have also been introduced to ‘new zealand’ and ‘tasmania’)
(the ‘brood parasitic’ (or ‘cuckoo’) bumblebees have sometimes been classified as a ‘subgenus’ or ‘genus’ (psithyrus), but are now usually treated as members of bombus)
(‘bumblebees’ are ‘social insects’ that form ‘colonies’ with a ‘single queen’)
(the ‘colonies’ are smaller than those of ‘honeybees’, growing to as few as ’50 individuals’ in a ‘nest’)
(‘female bumblebees’ can sting repeatedly, but generally ignore ‘humans’ and other ‘animals’)
(‘cuckoo bumblebees’ do not make ‘nests’; their ‘queens’ aggressively invade the ‘nests’ of other ‘bumblebee species’, kill the ‘resident queens’ and then lay their own ‘eggs’, which are cared for by the ‘resident workers’)
“wow! talk about ‘home invasion’ taken to its logical extremes!”
(‘bumblebees’ have ’round bodies’ covered in ‘soft hair’ (‘long branched setae’) called pile, making them ‘appear’ (and ‘feel’) ‘fuzzy’)
(they have ‘aposematic’ (aka ‘warning’) coloration, often consisting of contrasting bands of color, and different species of ‘bumblebee’ in a ‘region’ often resemble each other in mutually protective ‘müllerian mimicry’)
(‘harmless insects’ (such as ‘hoverflies’) often derive protection from resembling ‘bumblebees’ (in ‘batesian mimicry’) and may be confused with them)
(‘nest-making bumblebees’ can be distinguished from similarly ‘large’ + ‘fuzzy’ cuckoo bees by the form of the ‘female hind leg’)
(in ‘nesting bumblebees’, it is modified to form a ‘pollen basket’, a ‘bare shiny area’ surrounded by a ‘fringe’ of ‘hairs’ used to transport ‘pollen’, whereas in ‘cuckoo bees’, the ‘hind leg’ is ‘hairy’ all round, and ‘pollen grains’ are wedged among the ‘hairs’ for ‘transport’)
((like their relatives the ‘honeybees’), ‘bumblebees’ feed on ‘nectar’, using their ‘long hairy tongues’ to ‘lap up’ the ‘liquid’; the ‘proboscis’ is folded under the ‘head’ during ‘flight’)
(‘bumblebees’ gather ‘nectar’ to add to the ‘stores’ in the ‘nest’, and ‘pollen’ to ‘feed’ their ‘young’)
(they ‘forage’ using ‘color’ + ‘spatial’ relationships to identify ‘flowers’ to ‘feed from’)
(some ‘bumblebees’ rob ‘nectar’, making a ‘hole’ near the ‘base’ of a ‘flower’ to access the ‘nectar’ while avoiding ‘pollen transfer’)
(‘bumblebees’ are important ‘agricultural pollinators’, so their ‘decline’ in ‘europe’, ‘north america’, and ‘asia’ is a ’cause for concern’)
“’cause of concern’ for…?”
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(the ‘decline’ has been caused by…)
‘habitat loss’
*’mechanization’ of ‘agriculture’*
‘pesticides’
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*👨🔬🕵️♀️🙇♀️*SKETCHES*🙇♂️👩🔬🕵️♂️*
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💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥