Insect and Spider Identification: CLOSED: Bumble Bee?, 1 by jenhillphoto

jenhillphoto wrote:
I took this picture in the summer. I had forgotten about it until recently when I was going through my files looking for calendar images. I discovered this bee on my artichoke flower. This bee seemed unusually still and I was able to snap away. It left me wondering if he was alive or dead. I can't feel good about the pics if he's dead, can I? I've cropped in so you can see the bee closer up. There's more to the original photo. I was trying to figure out what type of bee he is. Maybe an Eastern Bumble? I observe lots of bees like this in my garden all summer long. They do sometimes hang out in flowers for long times, but do move around. I don't use insecticides or anything like that. So I assume if he did die, it would be of natural causes. If he is dead in this pic, it just makes me sad.

Edited to add: I snapped this picture 9/22.

This message was edited Jan 12, 2008 10:55 AM