Friends of Bandy Field Nature Park
Thanks to Tuckahoe Middle School International Baccalaureate Students for their hard work on a hot summer morning!
On August 15, 14 TMS IB students loaded wood chips and then distributed them in the reforestation project area to help suppress invasive plants.
For more information on the reforestation project, click here.
Look close! Not all the bumblebees you see at the park are alike, and one is a threatened species.
Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens). The most commonly seen bumblebee in the area. Most are about 1/2" long. Seen from early spring to the end of the flowering season. Easiest to identify by the single yellow hair band on the first abdominal (nearest to the thorax) segment.
Two-spotted Bumblebee (Bombus bimaculatus). The earliest emerging Bumblebee in the area, though most are gone by August. Most are about 1/2" long. They have a yellow hair band on the first abdominal segment (also called tergal segment or T1), and two tufts of yellow hair in the center of the the second abdominal segment (T2), roughly appearing like two spots.
Brown-belted Bumblebee (Bombus griseocollis). Emerges in mid-spring and seen until early fall. Most are about 1/2"-3/4" long. They have a yellow hair band on the first abdominal segment (T1) and central brown patch on the second segment (T2).
American Bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus). This Bumblebee is under federal review for listing as an endangered species. In VA, it is currently listed as "a species of highest conservation concern" that needs "intense and immediate" attention. They have been spotted at the Habitat garden and are easily recognizable by the yellow hair bands on the first three (in workers) or four (in males, like the one shown) abdominal segments.
