Bombus fraternus, f, face, Charleston Co., SC
Bombus fraternus. The Southern Plains Bumble Bee. This crisp, handsome and short-faced bee suffers from lack of an adequate publicist. Thought, several other Bumble Bees in its clan, to be in decline from introduced pathogens. It gets little mention in the bee press. Perhaps because it inhabits the flatwoods and flatlands, where heat, ticks, poisonous snakes, and topographic monotony keeps the well-healed naturalists thin on the ground. Indeed it appears to be suffering and perhaps more so than some other groups, but we know little. So, how nice to have Mimi Jenkins show up with a nice string of them from the land of watermelons outside of Charleston. Perhaps they are not so rare after all, though they once occurred in the very neighborhood of my lab and have not been seen there in over 100 years....and believe you me we have looked. Kelly Graninger, star intern, took these pictures.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all
Ye know on earth and all ye need to know
" Ode on a Grecian Urn"
John Keats. Original public domain image from Flickr