Great Yellow Bumblebee

Last year I got very excited when I found this bee in the garden. I thought it might be a great yellow bumblebee but it turned out to be a Heath bumblebee, which is also quite rare but not so endangered as the great yellow one which is hanging on by its wingtips in the far north of Scotland, Orkney and the western isles.

A few days ago I caught sight of a large yellow blur flying past me but I wasn't quick enough to see what it was. Yesterday I spotted it and managed to get a few blurry pictures which I sent off to a friend who sent it off to her friend who is an expert in bumblebees. This morning I got an email confirming that it was indeed a queen Great Yellow Bumblebee.

So I spent a fair bit of today stalking the garden in glorious sunshine watching for bees. It was obviously far too hot* for the bees as they didn't come out until late afternoon but eventually I hit gold... not one but two GYBs. When I explained that I really wanted to put it's pic on blip one was even kind enough to sit still for me.

* Scorching weather in the archipelago today. Factor 30 suncream and big hats all round... has someone moved us towards the equator?