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Two Bee or not Two Bee...
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Although I am not quite 100% on the identification, I believe these are Broken-banded Bumblebees (Bombus soroeensis) feeding on Musk or Nodding Thistle (Carduus nutans). My wife Emily and I had a very pleasant walk at Martin Down on the Hampshire/Dorset border today. Although the grass was damp from the rain the evening before and the sun only appeared in fits and starts there was still plenty of wildlife to see.
Emily spotted this beautiful pair of bees on this thistle and so I was forced to soak my knees on the wet grass to get this shot. If I am correct with the ID, it was well worth it as this is one of the UK's rarer Bumblebee species. If there are any fellow Treknature members out there who can help confirm this I'd be very grateful. I am also going to send the shot to the Bumblebee Conservation trust for positive ID, and it will hopefully help them in their recording.
Kind Regards
Vinny www.vincentblood.com |
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Initially, I think it is soroeensis, my text books give a good indication to this,
Soroeensis is widespread, but localised, found in extensive areas of late flowering plants., limestone grasslands, moorlands and coastal areas.
Beware though, this species can be confused with lucorum, soroeensis is a medium sized bee,whereas lucorum is quite large....hope you get a true fix and update this accordingly.. best regards, h
try www.bwars.com for an id...
Well done, Vinny.
Very colourful and overall sharp concerning the two Bees.
TFS
Annick
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