Better know your bumblebee



Bumblebee Identikit
Bee identification color guides-international

international identikit for  bees
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/bombus/_key_colour_world/worldcolourkey.html

Insects Have 'Personalities' Too, Research On Novelty-Seeking Honey Bees Indicates

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120308143201.htm

"There is a gold standard for personality research and that is if you show the same tendency in different contexts, then that can be called a personality trait," Robinson said. Not only do certain bees exhibit signs of novelty-seeking, he said, but their willingness or eagerness to "go the extra mile" can be vital to the life of the hive.

For Stressed Bees, the Glass Is Half Empty

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110602122248.htm

The findings suggest that it may be possible to study bees as a model for emotion in invertebrates. "If some scientific research on emotion could be conducted in insects, this would lead to a reduction in the numbers of sentient vertebrate animals used in research," Bateson said. "Thus our research potentially has important implications for animal welfare."

White-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus lucoruum


Red-tailed  Bumblebee, Bombus lapidarius