Noli timere on Nostr: If it was a very big black bee with a red/orange bum*, it almost certainly wasn’t a ...

If it was a very big black bee with a red/orange bum*, it almost certainly wasn’t a “boy”, but a new queen — maybe looking for a male to mate with, and/or for pollen/nectar to make herself fat enough to survive overwinter (the new queens are the only bees from this year to survive through to next year). Males are smaller than queens.

*Bombus lapidarius — males of which have yellow heads and upper thoraxes — or B. ruderarius or B. rupestris https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/learn-about-bumblebees/species-guide/red-tailed-bumblebee/