R. baetica
         M. religiosa
         M. florea
         Tephritid fly
         X. violacea
         Bombus sp.
         C. virgo
         P. pennipes
         O. brunneum
         T. plebejus

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Unless otherwise noted, all pictures on this site were taken in Pelion, Greece, shown on the map below.

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View images of the Common Toad, an ugly, bulky, but really sweet creature with an interesting... nightlife.

  Veggie of the Month

Learn about the Salsify, a beautiful plant, with edible and medicinal properties, that is currently blooming in Pelion.

  Cool Destination

Visit Mourtias, one of Pelion's most picturesque beaches on the Aegean coast.

  Exciting Site

Tour the Volos Archaeological Museum, a pretty century-old building, whose exhibits span a historical period of over 10 millennia!

  Month's Wallpaper

Download a fantastic picture of a rickety jetty in Lefokastron, Pelion, taken by Huw Jones.

Loading image. Please wait Bumble Bee on Anemone :: 2002/03/17 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos Bumble Bee on Anemone :: 2002/03/17 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos No image! No image! No image!

Bumble Bee

Bombus sp.

Bumble bees are large and very hairy insects, which form annual colonies, with only mated queens surviving the winter to start new colonies in the spring. The nest, which is essentially a ball of grass and moss with wax cells inside it, may be under the ground - often in mouse holes - or amongst the bases of tall grasses.

The young are reared on pollen and nectar, which is carried home in large pollen baskets on the rear legs of the workers. Some early spring workers are really small and can be mistaken for a different species, but later workers are much larger and can, therefore, carry hefty food supplies to their nests. Males usually appear later, usually in the summer.

Some northern species produce very few workers, even none at all in the Arctic, because the short summer season in the far north does not allow time to build a colony.

Bumble bees are very abundant throughout the Pelion region and can be frequently seen flying from flower to flower, with their characteristic, buzzing flight. The bee in the picture was caught by a spell of unusually cold spring weather and was hanging on an Anemone (Anemone coronaria) for dear life. Unfortunately, the poor little critter didn't make. I checked on it the next day and found dead, on the ground, just inches away from the bud's stem.


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Fact Sheet

Food
Pollen and nectar.

Active
March to September.

Habitat
A variety of flowery habitats.

Distribution
Unknown with certainty.


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Taxonomy


Superkingdom: Eukaryota; Kingdom: Metazoa; Phylum: Arthropoda; Subphylum: Chelicerata; Superclass: Hexapoda; Class: Insecta; Subclass: Neoptera; Order: Hymenoptera; Suborder: Aculeata; Superfamily: Apoidea; Family: Apidae; Subfamily: Bombinae; Genus: Bombus; Species: N/A.

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Acknowledgments


Most of the information on this page has been obtained from the following book:

CHINERY, M. 1993. Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain & Western Europe. Domino Books, Jersey.

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