Subject: [Tweeters] Bombers and Butterflies
Date: Apr 12 19:17:57 2012
From: vogelfreund at comcast.net - vogelfreund at comcast.net


I had a huge bumble bee crawl across my bed, the other evening. Unfortunately, my knee-jerk reaction was KILL. So I flushed it down the toilet.

Phil Hotlen, Bellingham
----- Original Message -----
From: "jeff gibson" <gibsondesign at msn.com>
To: "tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 9:15:22 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Bombers and Butterflies


Someone in the Weather Division at the Anchor Pub was whining the other day about our cool spring temperature's. "Why around here it takes about 6 months just to heat up your average-sized bug!" It's true that big bugs take awhile to emerge around here. One exception is the Bumblebee.

My nickname for our largest bumble's is the ' Bee-25 Bombus' (after the B-52 bomber). Bombus is the genus of many of our Bumblebee's including the common Black and Yellow ones of great size -like up to 25mm or so. Of course they only carry a payload of pollen rather than something more sinister. Seen out of the corner of one's eye these big bee's sometimes seem to achieve hummingbird like proportions. Bike riders may know that colliding with one of these big bugs at speed produces a pretty good thunk. Always wear a helmet and keep your mouth shut while biking in Bombus territory.

Yesterday, 4/10, was wonderfully warm and the bee's were out in numbers, not just the big fuzzy (and presumably better insulated ) Bombus, which have been out for quite a while , but all sorts of other bee's and flies. For a good early season bug (and hummingbird) plant you could do worse than our native Mahonia aquifolium ,with it' s bright yellow flower's being real bug magnets right now at my house.

On this sunny tuesday I also saw my first Butterflies of the year; a single White (cabbage I suppose) and a small Frittilary! in my somewhat butterfly sterile N. Everett neighborhood. Last year I saw more butterflies, those sun lovers, in February's brief sun spells, than I did in March to July. To see a butterfly around here is always a treat anytime. This here is Moth Country!

Jeff Gibson
watching bugs in,
Everett Wa

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