It's The Bee's Knees!

As a gardener, I am somewhat fond (some might say overly fond) of bees.  I love the work they do on my behalf, I love the sound they make on hot summer afternoons, and I also happen to think they're quite attractive.

I am especially fond of bumble bees.  When we lived in Illinois, I often got to see the classic bumble bees (big and fuzzy with black and yellow stripes) as they bumbled around the garden.  I hadn't seen a bumble bee at all in Idaho, and assumed that there aren't any out here.

As it happens, I was looking for the wrong thing.  I read an article about the fact that the Western Bumble Bee went extinct without anyone really noticing.  This got me thinking, and paying much closer attention to the bees that are around our place (there are lots, thank goodness).

I noticed a new bee one day that seemed to have a red stripe on it.  I looked closer, and I saw it was very fuzzy (sure sign of a bumble bee if ever there was one).

I got all excited, ran and grabbed the camera (they're tricky little buggers to take a photo of), and then did some research to see if I could identify it.  I believe we are being visited by Bombus melanopygus... commonly known as the russett-butted bumble bee.

Here's the little guy in all its glory:

It's not very big - about 1 1/2 centimetres - but I'm thrilled to have it (and its friends) about the place.