A Pictorial Guide to Bees
of the
Humboldt Bay Dunes
by Susan E. Nyoka
Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge
RELEASE 1.0 - July 2004
of the
Humboldt Bay Dunes
by Susan E. Nyoka
Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge
RELEASE 1.0 - July 2004
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A Pictorial Guide to Bees
of the Humboldt Bay Dunes by Susan E. Nyoka Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge RELEASE 1.0 - July 2004 |
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Home How to Recognize a Bee
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Common Name: bumble bee Scientific Name: Bombus vosnesenskii Recognition characters: The most common bumble bee in our local area, including the dunes. Queens are large (20+ mm), males slightly smaller, with workers variable in size; all are robust and "furry", covered with dense black pile except for a yellow "T" on the face and "shoulders" and a yellow band near the tip of the abdomen; females carry pollen in corbiculae, shiny concave areas on the outer hind leg, fringed by long stiff hairs.
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Nest sites: In the dunes, B. vosnesenskii nests in areas with high grass cover, including European beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) and exotic annual grasses associated with yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus).
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Preferred flowers: Most abundant on the dominant flowering plant of the season.  beach pea (Lathyrus littoralis)  beach buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium)  European sea rocket (Cakile maritima)  dune goldenrod (Solidago spathulata ssp. spathulata) |
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