# Tri-colored Bumblebees in my garden



## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

They've been coming to my blooming veronica for days now...I took these photos in my garden this morning. 
_Bombus ternarius_ (thanks OldBee, for the species ID...hey, that rhymes!). I've never seen these before here until now. I've seen them a couple at a time.


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## Honeycomb (Jan 15, 2010)

Wow that is so cool! I love bumblebees and have never seen one like that. Beautiful!


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## NorthALABeeKeep (Nov 10, 2004)

they sure are furry little critters, guess thats what makes them very good at pollination.


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## FeedingFreedom (May 18, 2010)

I saw these in my yard for the first time this year, my first thought was that I had accidentally hit a bumbler with some fluorescent marking paint. They have a brilliant orange stripe that doesn't look natural, kind of like seeing a Scarlet Tanager for the first time, too bright to be real! Thanks for the pictures and the ID, I was wondering what they were.


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## brac (Sep 30, 2009)

Strange that so many of us are seeing these for the first time this year. I have seen some that were large, even for a bumbble, and some that were almost honeybee size.


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## Dalantech (Oct 1, 2009)

Beautiful bees!


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## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

FeedingFreedom said:


> I saw these in my yard for the first time this year,...Thanks for the pictures and the ID, I was wondering what they were.


FF,
I was reading about the range of this species, and it said they are northern and seldom go south of PA (where you are). I had never seen them here before either, even since when I was a kid here. Maybe they are extending their range further south?....but why?


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

Why, Global Warming is forcing them south to find cold weather.

Johnny


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## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

_"(thanks OldBee, for the species ID..."_

You're welcome--no problem. It was too easy for that one. I didn't know the species until I went to BugGuide and used the search option. I used the words "orange bumble bee". That word search works pretty good. It can't always narrow an insect down but gets close to what one might be looking for in the images. I have not seen the Tri-color around here. There are similar species in the Western US. like _Bombus melanopygus. _[The  smiley in my original post was because the BugG. photo was so similar to yours].


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