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Phenology is the study of changes in something over time. In my case, I'm investigating changes in bumble bee abundance, species, caste, and floral choice, during the year. There are several species of bumble bees reported in Georgia, and one of my goals is to determine which species are found in the piedmont area, and how their activity changes during a flowering season.
I'll be identifying bumble bees as long as they are flying, usually from April through September. I'm interested in differences in caste turnover among species- when do you stop seeing queens and only see workers? When do males appear for the first time? What are they feeding on, and how does it change during the flowering season?
I'm marking as many bees as possible in order to gather information about abundance at my sites (and because it's fun to know if I've caught a new bee or an old acquaintance!). The two bees pictured at right are individuals that have been marked. The top photo is of a Bombus pennsylvanicus queen, and the bottom is of a B. griseocollis male. The latter is special, because typically males are not produced until a colony is near the end of its life, in the late summer. This male, however, was caught in May. I'm eager to see if he's an anomaly, or if this species regularly produces males throughout the flowering season!
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All photos copyright Athena Rayne Anderson 2009
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