The Bumblebee, Up Close and Personal
Scientists have determined that Bumblebees are the cutest insects. That’s an official fact. They are the teddy bears of the insect world, furry and rounded.
Of course, they are teddy bears with five eyes, two big compound eyes and three little “primitive” eyes.
There are 46 species of bumblebee native to North America. They are intrepid pollinators who venture out when it is too cold or cloudy, too early in the day, or too early in the spring for most other bee species.
Judy took these pictures on Sunday with her regular lens and I just kept cropping them for a closer look.
Ah, bumblebees. I will miss you over the long winter.
gardeninacity 
hats off to Judy for the fine photography.
On Judy’s behalf, thanks.
Great pictures. I adore bumblebees. I will miss them too. I never thought of them as teddy bears but yeah, that’s a great analogy,
Thanks.
No wonder I love them so much: my Teddy Bear was a treasured part of my youth. Gorgeous photos!
I don’t remember having a teddy myself, but my older son slept with his (a polar bear actually) to an age I cannot mention without consequences.
I’m glad that science has confirmed our opinion! They are so cute to watch all summer long!
What good are scientists if they don’t tell us what we want to hear? That goes for pretty much everybody else, actually.
Nice way to think of them. Great shots Judy. Some fly all winter long here, only hiding away on the very coldest days.
They’ll be hibernating here in a couple of weeks.
What a great description…I’ve never thought of them as teddy bears but they are really cuddly looking although I’m sure they wouldn’t like a hug from me. The bees are still going strong here. They’ll even come out on a warm February day. Brave souls!
Here the bee season is winding down. They still look busy, though.
Great shots. What I’m hearing and seeing are leaves falling and rustling. There is so much that it almost sounds like a surf.
The leaves here are barely starting to fall.
We have at least two kinds of bumbles in our garden. I love to see them bumbling around the garden. They will be missed here too.
I really can’t distinguish between bumblebee species. I do love to watch them, though.
Our clematis grwing along our fence attracted so many pollinators: bumbles, honeys, yellow jackets, it literally was buzzing with activity. Our dog and cat always take a swat at them.
Beautiful photos! That last picture, in particular, does make me think of a teddy bear. I will miss them, too, this winter.
Thanks.
We love to pet ours especially now as they are slowing down…
Huh. I have never actually petted a bumblebee.
Amazing photographs. They are a bit like small, fluffy, teddy bears. Very noisy ones.
True, the regular teddies don’t buzz.
We love them too over here in England
What’s not to love?
Me too.
Then it’s unanimous!
Hello Jason, they’re some great close-ups. I love bumble bees because they’re big, noisy, gentle, bumbling, wandering things with long tongues. I hope I’ll be able to attract many bumble and other bee species as the garden is planted.
I’m sure you will!
You’ve got some great shots here, they are tricky to photograph because they’re always moving, hence the “busy bee” name 🙂 I’ll miss their company too.
They do move around a lot, don’t they? By the way, I tried following the link to your blog but it doesn’t seem to be working.
What fantastic pics of such a wonderful little critter. Oh yes, I too will miss them. A lovely post.xxx
Thank you!
They are great photos! Yes, I’ll miss the bees too.
We can always look forward to the spring reunion.
Those are excellent shots, and thanks for the bumblebee information. I didn’t know half of it.
You’re welcome.
Great images.
Thanks.
I agree–I’ll miss them, too. Great shots, Judy!
I hope there lots of them next year as there were this.
Great photos by Judy and some nice research on your part…. unless those facts are off the top of your head!
I wish I knew more about bumble bees, I tried investigating earlier in the year, but they all look the same to me.
I wasn’t too thrilled to learn about cuckoo bees, they seem as soft and cuddly as the rest, but sure do have the air of a freeloader to them!
You are wise to suspect fabrication, but in this case I did not make stuff up.