The yellow-faced bumble bees are back!
And amid the throes of winter and the promise of spring.
On a trip Feb. 27 to Bodega Bay, we spotted two yellow-faced bumble bees (Bombus vosnesenskii) about two miles apart.
They were both foraging on "The Pride of Madeira" (Echium candicans) on a sunny, but wind-whipped day in this Sonoma County coastal town.
The camera lens, the strong wind and the erratic flight of the bumble bees didn't allow us to get close, but the purple spiked flowers made a delightful sight.
See more images of this bumble bee, found throughout western North America, on Bug Guide.
Attached Images:
Yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) foraging on the Pride of Maderia at Bodega Bay on Feb. 27. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Covered in pollen, a yellow-faced bumble bee forages on a seaside daisy at Bodega Bay on June 10, 2010. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)