Tag Archive | digger bees

Bees!

Apr14
The first bees I saw this morning were little tiny native bees all over the Foresteria. They’re so fast and rarely settle on a flower, but I kept shooting. Though I didn’t get a great shot of any, I did get a surprise when I looked back through the images. The bee on top is about ⅜” long. The spider below devours an even tinier bee.

I’m so grateful to see bees of all stripes and colors back just today! Yesterday was too cold, and the day before they just weren’t here yet. Today, bees everywhere!

Bombus huntii on grape hyacinths
A ground-nesting digger bee, Anthophera sp.
In this standoff between a honeybee and a sweat bee, the littlest bee prevailed, keeping the tulip pollen for itself.

It was a joyous morning in the garden. I got a quarter of the seed potatoes planted, but the sprouts on the rest were too short. I’ve read several places they should be ¾ – 1″ long before going in the dirt, so I’ll wait til the rest are a bit stronger to plant them. Heading back to the house I spied the first bumblebee in the grape hyacinths, a big yellow one, but didn’t get the camera in time to capture her. I was immediately sidetracked from other garden tasks to hang out with the camera and chase bees: one of my favorite pastimes, still, seven years after I began photographing them. I’m grateful for this wondrous passion I never could have predicted.

And I’m grateful that Stellar had a good morning, and enjoyed a walk to the canyon, where he stood magnificently for a long while with his ears blowing in the strong wind.