Taking a Break

Bombus hortorum, the garden bumblebee.  I think that's a dewdrop between her eyes.  You can see it in large.

There are four species of bumblebees in New Zealand that were introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to pollinate red clover for seed crops.  This is one of two that I see in my garden. The other is B.terrestris, the large earth bumblebee.


In spring and early summer the big, slow moving B.terrestris queens are about, but now that it's late summer there are just the smaller, hyped up terrestris workers and the hortorum clan.  There are many of them and they work frantically.  It is not unusual to see one collapsed on a flower or leaf. (TeeJay recently blipped four in a flower).  I took advantage of this one and got a couple of good shots of her while she was still, but she was not pleased and waved the camera away with one leg.