northeast-flora-and-fauna

I got 2 confirmations on this ID so I think we can be fairly confident that this is a Golden Northern Bumblebee . (It does have a prominent black band on its thorax and an especially yellow abdomen like any good Golden Northern Bumblebee.) Despite the "northern" part of its name, it can occasionally be found in places like Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia. The name isn't entirely inappropriate though, since it does sound like they're more common in the northeast than down south. Each spring the queens emerge from hibernation and feed on nectar/pollen until they're strong/healthy enough to start a colony. They'll each build a nest and lay 8-10 eggs for whom she provides honey. When these bees grow up, they take over the foraging and the care of the next generation of eggs the queen lays; at this point the queen's responsibilities shift from being a do-everything mom to mostly being the egg-layer. In the fall, some of the eggs develop into males (drones) and n...