Hello incredible beeple!
I hope you’ve all been enjoying the lovely Fall weather (or at least in MD…)! These coming weeks are a great time to investigate what floral resources our bumble friends use as their season closes out. These flowers will fuel hibernating queens, so I’m extra curious to see what their top choices are! Out in MD I’ve been seeing lots of love for Goldenrods and Wingstem, but what else!?
I’ve always found it compelling that supporting bees throughout a fraction (but not all) of their active season can lead to starvation as the large populations we all built up suddenly have no food available. We encourage surveying until you can’t find any more bumbles (normally mid-October in MD) to ensure we support them throughout their entire time of need! 🙂
And hey, I know I’d rather get out for a long day of surveys in this beautiful weather than in the hot Summer sun!
We’re at 827 surveys as of Monday, September 19th. I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish by mid-October! Let me know if you have any questions, and keep up the great work everyone!
Jenan
Common Eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) on rugosa rose, September in midcoast Maine
