Red-tailed bumblebee

My knee felt a lot better after a day of rest, so it was back out in the field in very muggy conditions. Early in the day I must have been stung, because suddenly my whole arm felt as though it was on fire, and I started to feel almost light-headed, with a racing heart. I'm not sure what it was, as I don't usually react to bites and stings, but fortunately after fifteen minutes rest in the shade I was back to normal.

There wasn't much time to spare for photography, but I was very impressed by this spanking new queen red-tailed bumblebee - her black fur was so glossy and her red bottom so very bright!