Thread by @VJMacPhail

I found a #bumblebee nest last week @parcplaisance ! Can you see it here? I spotted a common Eastern bumble bee worker from about 50' away flying down towards some non-flowering vegetation so I took a look, and voila, a nest! (1/n)

@parcplaisance (2/n) Here's a closer view of the bumble bee nest entrance. Can you spot it now? It was actually under vegetation that has been mowed, but adjacent to an unmowed 'island' with a shrub, stump, other vegetation.

@parcplaisance (3/n) Despite the cool temps (ranged from say 8-16C in the times I looked at it), I saw workers, males, and at least one gyne (new virgin queen) leaving or entering this common Eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) nest, sometimes with bright pollen loads!

@parcplaisance (4/n) I just *happened* to have a second camera and a tripod with me camping, so I set it up to take videos. It's so rare to actually find a nest in the wild I wanted to document it. Here's a video of returning bees (regular speed)

@parcplaisance (5/n) It's a tiny entrance hole to the nest, but more than one bumblebee can enter/exit at one time. In this video (regular speed) a male and worker leave at the same time:

@parcplaisance (6/n) Here's a video of a gyne and workers leaving the nest. A gyne is a reproductive female, a future queen; I would presume she's unmated and leaving the nest to find a male & mate before overwintering - the original colony's queen will be dying soon:

@parcplaisance (7/n) Common Eastern bumble bee colonies, at peak size in perfect conditions, could have a couple hundred bees inside, but with the cold weather, there wasn't a huge amount of activity at this nest. Here's close up of bees entering/leaving, at 4x speed:

@parcplaisance (8/n) Here's another video, because, hey, #bumblebees are super cool, and nests are neat! This was taken a couple feet from the entrance, showing both entering and exiting bees, at 4x speed:

@parcplaisance (9/9) I do have a couple hours of video but will stop here. Have you ever found a #bumblebee nest? Even if it's under your deck or in a bird box we'd love to hear about it! Submit your information (incl photos) to @bumblebeewatch. Happy bee-watching!

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