bee ideas please

[captaincarot]

on the side of one of the ressers by the woodhead pass today i saw a presumed bumble bee which has me totally beefuddled, i've trawled through loads of pics and bee id sites and just cant find anything like it.

size i'd say mid to large sized bumble bee,

colour a glossy black similar to that of a raven with the exception of the head which was a bright yellow similar in tone to a dandelion flower possibly slightly more orange than that, the eyes were a dark black

the whole body was hairy.

if anyone has any id suggestions which i could use to google some images i would be very grateful.

[eucera]

I would suggest this might be the huge fly Tachina grossa. Check it out and let us know

[Matt Smith]

I'd agree with that, sounds a perfect description of Tachina grossa. Can you let me have the details of the sighting for the Tachinid Recording Scheme database please

Thanks.

[captaincarot]

thanks the colour scheme isn't far off on that one but the shape is wrong, not bumble beeish enough and not hairy enough either also the eyes were black rather than the red of that fly.

trouble is i was so busy thinking isn't that a gorgeous looking bee that i didn't get round to actually using the camera to get a pic and by the time i checked the settings i realised the exposure was too long to bother and it then flew off before i could do anything about it.

[Matt Smith]

Originally Posted by captaincarot

thanks the colour scheme isn't far off on that one but the shape is wrong, not bumble beeish enough and not hairy enough either also the eyes were black rather than the red of that fly.

Tachina grossa has black eyes, not red.

[eucera]

oh well... worth a try

[captaincarot]

dammit this has started an argument between me an my other half she thinks it was one of them and i still don't.

so here's the details just incase.

approximately 12.30pm visiting rosebay willow herb flowers to feed

location coordinates

53.488058,-1.891773

[Matt Smith]

Originally Posted by captaincarot

dammit this has started an argument between me an my other half she thinks it was one of them and i still don't.

TBH, nothing else in the UK fits the description of a "black, bumblebee sized insect with a yellow head". I have been wrong footed by this species too, having seen a "big black bumble" zoom across my field of vision and land on some flowers, only to find it was T.grossa when I got close.

Thanks for the details, I'll convert these into a normal grid ref and add the record to the database, I consider it a good record for T.grossa.

[captaincarot]

Originally Posted by Matt Smith

TBH, nothing else in the UK fits the description of a "black, bumblebee sized insect with a yellow head". I have been wrong footed by this species too, having seen a "big black bumble" zoom across my field of vision and land on some flowers, only to find it was T.grossa when I got close.

Thanks for the details, I'll convert these into a normal grid ref and add the record to the database, I consider it a good record for T.grossa.

well i'm bound to be back in the area quite soon so next time pics will be taken, i won't be so dozy