Common Eastern Bumblebee
This is probably an Common Eastern Bumblebee , 1 of our most commonly seen bumblebees, but other bumblebees in the area can look similar, especially the Brown-belted Bumblebee and the Two-spotted Bumblebee . (Presumably the bumblebees have no difficulty distinguishing their species from the others, but IDing them can be tricky for us humans.) I have to admit that the 1st time I saw a bee with those orange blobs [1] on the legs, I wondered whether it was due to disease or some sort of parasite, but it turns out that they are pollen baskets . While "basket" may make you think of a container, bee pollen baskets are basically all pollen shaped into an oval that the bee can carry home. Quite a few bees will use pollen baskets, including honeybees , bumblebees , stingless bees , and orchid bees . My guess is that the presence of pollen baskets suggests that this particular bee had a successful day of pollen foraging. September 7, 2020 at the John Clyde Native Grassland Preserve Ph...