Pollinators in Action

I had to stop a moment and watch with fascination pollinators in action in my front garden, particularly on my sea holly, ‘Blue Glitter.’ When I walked by, I couldn’t believe the cloud of action surrounding this perennial. Wasps, which I believe to be Zethus spinipes, and several smaller flies and bees were zipping all about. I thought, hey, it would be cool to try to capture that on video! So, I tried to capture a small slice of the action with my camera. It is just over a minute and will not win any academy awards, but you can sense the flurry of activity.

http://youtu.be/7g6RYte5MYs

Moving along I am always amused by the Wool Carder Bees. This is the second year they have claimed their own “condos” among the spires of Lamb’s Ear and nearby Verbascum. They hover in mid air – their maneuvers worthy of a spot among the Blue Angels. When another bee invader comes too close, they ram into him to “bump” him away. This video may be a bit dizzying, but you can spot a “hover” or two and an attack.

http://youtu.be/ozkMCSbMqAM

I’ll try to improve my video making skills (as in short and sweet), because I will attempt this again. It is very fun to capture these little garden moments in action. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoyed.

July’s Featured Bee

The month of June in my North American Native Bee Calendar purchased from the Great Sunflower Project, features the Wool Carder Bee, genus Anthidium. These bees emerge in summer and will nest in nesting blocks, preformed cavities in wood or hollow plant stems.

They are about 1/2-3/4 inches long depending on the species. Both the males and females have a black or brown abdomen with varying patterns of striking yellow or white markings.

The males are extremely territorial and will patrol a patch of preferred flowers jealously guarding it for potential female mates. They are easily recognized by their hovering, darting and ramming maneuvers. When other males or bees of another species attempt to land on the flower that’s being guarded, the Anthidium male will hover for a moment near the trespasser and then forcefully bump him off.

I believe I’ve seen this in action and have several of these bees patrolling my sage, lamb’s ear, and lemon balm. They truly do hover, dart and ram. This one I captured guarding my sage:

Wool Carder Bees are especially attracted to sage, lavendar, catnip and trefoil.