I got a bit more work done in the garden this afternoon, trimming the little mixed wildlife hedge that R and I planted as a set of two dozen whips a few years ago, but I’m a bit under the weather at the moment, so by the time I’d done that quite small job I was bushed and needed a bit of a lie-down. On a more positive note, I was delighted to see that the hedge has produced its first blossom: two of the bird cherry saplings are currently sporting racemes of pretty white flowers. Because of its sunny position the hedge is already a magnet for basking insects, and the blossom should attract pollinators too, so I’m well pleased that we decided to replace the ugly Leylandii screen that was there before with something more ecologically useful.
I’m posting two more of my favourite bees today. I dithered over which one to feature, but though I love the Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica) I’ve included below, the stylishness of this male Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis) just gets him to the featured spot. A Red Mason Bee posing against red masonry – you’d almost think he’d planned the shot for me – but in fact I was lucky to get it, because he was very busy at the time, searching holes in the mortar of the house wall for females, and only paused for a second to sun himself on the brick quoin.
The pose of this Chocolate Miner shows off quite nicely the different hair colours on her face, body and abdomen, and the mixed dark and light pollen basket on her hind leg – short black hairs above, and long white ones below – that are diagnostic of the species. When they’re worn, and their pollen baskets are full, it’s not always easy at first glance to distinguish female Chocolate and Buffish Mining Bees (don’t get me started on the males, which I still confuse quite regularly), but when they’re fresh and clean, like this bee and the “Buffest” I posted a couple of days ago, they’re very obviously different.
R: L2, C8, D10.
