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| This shot of an all-dark Bombus ruderatus clearly shows the pollen baskets so typical of female true bumblebees. The shiny convex surface on the hind leg is fringed with long hairs. The bee collects pollen in the fur of its body, and uses special combs and notches on its legs to move the pollen into these baskets. A little drop of sticky nectar from the honey stomach binds it all together. Male true bumblebees don't collect pollen, but still retain a more-or-less bald flat area fringed with longer hairs. By contrast, both male and female cuckoo bumblebees have convex and uniformly hairy hind 'thighs'. by Ben Darvill |
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