Red Tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus lapidarius)

Regular readers (assuming there are any) look away now, he is riding his current hobby horse.   Since realising how desperate the world is going to be when we finally kill off all the pollinators I have been paying much more attention.   Attention to both the wild flowers around us and the insects.

A couple of months ago a Bumble Bee was just a Bumble Bee.  Slowly I am learning how to recognise them and that out of the 25 (or so) Uk species you are only likely to see 8.  The populations of the others being greatly reduced.

The blip is a Red Tailed Bumble Bee, I can't imagine why they called it that, the first I have seen since I learned about them.   The flower is Meadow Cranesbill  (Geranium pratense) we are lucky that the verges around us currently have clumps every few yards, and clearly pollinators love them.