male of B. affinis
Bombus affinis, 2018, Tucker County, West Virginia. An Endangered Species. This male was found by Justin DeVault from AllStar Ecology, who with other folks at AllStar, on their own time and dollar, have been surveying bumble bees in the state. Good people, good model, too rarely done, why aren't you doing this? I digress. After a couple of decades, this is the second specimen for the state. In somewhat nearby Mineral County, one was found in 2017 and about 100 miles away a few more have been found in the mountains of Virginia. The general pattern (other than one in the Shenandoah Valley in 2014 (or 2015)) has been high elevations, openings in heavily wooded general landscapes. There are more to be found...but people have to look. Check out the sporty reddish brown band on the abdomen ...this is an aberration of the type that shows up in B. impatiens regularly and at least once before in B. affinis. 06:30, 25 December 2018 (UTC)06:30, 25 December 2018 (UTC){{{{{{0}}}}}}06:30, 25 December 2018 (UTC)06:30, 25 December 2018 (UTC) All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200 Beauty is nature's fact. - Emily Dickinson You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen: Best over all technical resource for photo stacking: <a href="http://www.extreme-macro.co.uk" rel="nofollow">www.extreme-macro.co.uk/</a> Art Photo Book: Bees: An Up-Close Look at Pollinators Around the World: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bees-Up-Close-Pollinators-Around-World/dp/0760347387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488851025&sr=8-1&keywords=bees+up+close" rel="nofollow">www.amazon.com/Bees-Up-Close-Pollinators-Around-World/dp/...</a> Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland: <a href="http://bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf" rel="nofollow">bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf</a> Basic USGSBIML set up: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY" rel="nofollow">www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY</a> USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4" rel="nofollow">www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4</a> Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections">www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections</a> PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up: ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques: <a href="https://plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo" rel="nofollow">plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU" rel="nofollow">www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU</a> Excellent Technical Form on Stacking: <a href="http://www.photomacrography.net/" rel="nofollow">www.photomacrography.net/</a> Contact information: Sam Droege sdroege@usgs.gov 301 497 5840