Black tailed Bumble Bee on the Ceanothus
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1eb7ff_582ce138ecee459896e748d230e21bbe~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_843,h_562,al_c,q_85,enc_auto/1eb7ff_582ce138ecee459896e748d230e21bbe~mv2.jpg)
I originally identified this bumble bee as a hover fly because there is a hover fly that resembles it.
After researching further, I've determined that it definitely is a black-tailed bumble bee Bombus melanopygus.
It is feeding on the nectar of blossoms on our Ray Hartman ceanothus shrub.