The Tricolored Bumblebee’s Favorite August Snack
August in Borups Corners brings a subtle shift to the Northwestern Ontario bush. The high summer heat starts to ease, roadside brush grows thick and tall, and local insects work double-time before the northern chill arrives. Each summer we enjoy capturing the various plants, insects and wildlife that grow in and around our living lab program.
A quick look down at the trail edge on an August afternoon usually reveals a hive of activity, like this Tricolored Bumblebee (Bombus ternarius) parked on a head of Canada Thistle. With that unmistakable bright orange band wrapped around its middle between yellow stripes, it looks almost dressed for fall already.
Canada Thistle gets plenty of hate from gardeners for being an aggressive weed, but for local pollinators, it’s a key late-season food source. As other wildflowers fade across the township, these pale purple blooms stay packed with nectar. While the bee grabs a quick meal, neighbouring flower heads behind it are already bursting open into fluffy white seed heads, ready to ride the breeze across the meadow.
It’s a simple, everyday moment in the boreal forest … just a native bee taking full advantage of a warm August day while the sun lasts.
