2 MILLION BLOSSOMS
skyward before heading off. Sometimes this edginess spills over into aggression. I have seen a male arrive at speed, knocking a quietly feeding worker bumble bee off a patch of comfrey to the ground. The males are also very sensitive to movement nearby. Sometimes one will see me and approach, buzzing loudly while hovering. He’ll move around me and hover again, buzzing loudly as if giving a warning. This behavior can feel aggressive, but I’ve never been attacked. It does provide a close-up view of his mask-like yellow face!
There She Comes
Above: Male Anthophora plumipes foraging on lungwort, showing his pale face. © Philip Strange Below: Female Anthophora plumipes foraging on lungwort, showing her orange pollen brush. © Philip Strange Bottom: Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) blooms a bright, cheery yellow. © Muriel Bendel, Wikimedia Commons
Virgin females appear a couple of weeks after the males, though it’s hard to tell they’re the same species. She’s also chunky and rounded but is covered in sleek jet-black hairs except for a bright orange pollen brush on her back legs. Her middle legs also lack the long silky hairs so prominent in males. You might mistake her for a bumble bee but she is in fact the female Anthophora plumipes. Stark differences between the male and female as seen in this species are called sexual dimorphism. Although she looks very different, her general behaviour is rather similar to that of her male buzzing loudly. The males have been eagerly awaiting her arrival.
They pursue her with great enthusiasm. While she feeds purposefully from the lungwort or comfrey, a hopeful male fascinating to watch the male as he hovers and keeps adjusting his position slightly. It’s as if some invisible spring holds him back. And then he pounces, hoping to mate. Often his lunge fails and he knocks her to the ground. The males are very competitive. I’ve seen several hover one behind the other, each eager to gain access to a female. When a male manages to mount the female, a pre-copulatory phase ensues. He strokes her antennae with his hairy middle legs, probably wafting pheromones to encourage her. Other males still try to dart in to mate. When a female accepts a male, he may stay attached for up to 40 minutes until mating is completed.
Once mating has occurred, it’s time for the females to
in which to build her nest. Once a satisfactory nest site has been found, the females work tirelessly collecting nectar and their long tongue hanging out. The long tongue gives the Anthophora easy access to resources buried deeply in the long comfrey and lungwort. The males don’t help in the nesting phase, but I often spot them well into May. They spend the day feeding. Sometimes they’ll swoop in and try to mate with a female while she’s busy working the blooms. This wastes foraging time for the females.
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