We've got honeybees

[LiberalEsto]

There they were this morning, golden beauties harvesting nectar on the spearmint flowers. I saw at least a dozen little honeybee gals on the mint as I was picking blueberries.

I haven't seen a honeybee in the garden for two years, so they were a very welcome sight.

Usually we get loads of bumblebees, because I grow bee-friendly plants like hyssop, salvia, betony, catmint, marjoram, lemon balm, thyme, buddleia, roses and much more.

There was a very peculiar bee hanging out in the betony (lamb's ears) last month. It was white and black, and it was headbutting bumblebees and chasing them away from the betony flowers. I'd never seen aggressive bee behavior like that before, so I looked it up and discovered it was a male wool carder bee.

This is a European immigrant bee that lives in holes in the ground. Betony is their favorite plant. The females gather woolly hairs from the betony leaves to line their nests. The males drive other bees away from the betony patch so the female wool carders can have the flowers to themselves while they dine. Uninterrupted, that is, except when the male flies over to mate with them.

I suspect the wool carder bees are Republicans, since they want to hog all the flowers and nectar for themselves, and refuse to share with the other bees.

[Gato Moteado]

1. here is the bee i need to cultivate.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melipona

they're stingless and they pollinate vanilla. imagine how delicious honey made from vanilla blooms must be.

[EstimatedProphet]

2. I saw a honeybee yesterday

I'm sure there's more around too, so I'm happy.

[Blue Gardener]

3. I have them in my flowers

They seem to like the purple coneflowers and zinnias. When the New England asters start blooming I'll have dozens of bees and butterflies.