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I found a #bumblebee nest last week @parcplaisance ! Can you see it here? I spotted a common Eastern bumble bee worker from about 50& #39; away flying down towards some non-flowering vegetation so I took a look, and voila, a nest! (1/n)
(2/n) Here& #39;s a closer view of the bumble bee nest entrance. Can you spot it now? It was actually under vegetation that has been mowed, but adjacent to an unmowed & #39;island& #39; with a shrub, stump, other vegetation.
(3/n) Despite the cool temps (ranged from say 8-16C in the times I looked at it), I saw workers, males, and at least one gyne (new virgin queen) leaving or entering this common Eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) nest, sometimes with bright pollen loads!
(4/n) I just *happened* to have a second camera and a tripod with me camping, so I set it up to take videos. It& #39;s so rare to actually find a nest in the wild I wanted to document it. Here& #39;s a video of returning bees (regular speed) http://youtu.be/YXvSoSH5GXA ">https://youtu.be/YXvSoSH5G...
(5/n) It& #39;s a tiny entrance hole to the nest, but more than one bumblebee can enter/exit at one time. In this video (regular speed) a male and worker leave at the same time: http://youtu.be/sphOjYhWQtE ">https://youtu.be/sphOjYhWQ...
(6/n) Here& #39;s a video of a gyne and workers leaving the nest. A gyne is a reproductive female, a future queen; I would presume she& #39;s unmated and leaving the nest to find a male & mate before overwintering - the original colony& #39;s queen will be dying soon: http://youtu.be/7yXMlJk2lak ">https://youtu.be/7yXMlJk2l...
(7/n) Common Eastern bumble bee colonies, at peak size in perfect conditions, could have a couple hundred bees inside, but with the cold weather, there wasn& #39;t a huge amount of activity at this nest. Here& #39;s close up of bees entering/leaving, at 4x speed: http://youtu.be/UfKeAlPC2cU ">https://youtu.be/UfKeAlPC2...
(8/n) Here& #39;s another video, because, hey, #bumblebees are super cool, and nests are neat! This was taken a couple feet from the entrance, showing both entering and exiting bees, at 4x speed: http://youtu.be/BpVbGjrqpxI ">https://youtu.be/BpVbGjrqp...
(9/9) I do have a couple hours of video but will stop here. Have you ever found a #bumblebee nest? Even if it& #39;s under your deck or in a bird box we& #39;d love to hear about it! Submit your information (incl photos) to @bumblebeewatch. Happy bee-watching!
