Monday 26 April 2010

The Mining Bees Are Back

These little bees, the mining bees, are back in my garden, making little holes in my lawn.  Apparently there are 60 different species of Andrena mining bees in UK, so take your pick which one this is.  They are solitary bees, each female builds her own nest and looks after her own young.   When the female has finished her nesting, she will plug up the hole.  The young bees will not emerge until next Spring.  I had a go at getting some close up images of these bees.  The best way was to have one perched on my finger, it was difficult to take a picture with just one hand:-)  These little bees do not sting or their sting is so weak that it does not penetrate the skin.

Tawny Mining Bee

Tawny Mining Bee (3)

Mining Bee Nest

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Super macro shots Lyn.

holdingmoments said...

Like a little flying teddy bear.
Great captures Linda, and cracking detail.

Sarah Knight said...

Wonderful : )
Excellent shots, the one handed-photo is always interesting to try to execute, I had a similar experience with a monarch butterfly once.

Midmarsh John said...

Great close up photos. As you say, not easy operating one handed.

ShySongbird said...

It's lovely to be back Linda :)

Great shots here, what a friendly little creature. My friend would be hanging from the light shade by now, she has a huge bee and wasp phobia and the fact that this one doesn't sting would make no difference to her!

I have had a quick look back at some of the posts I missed and you have had some lovely outings and taken some cracking photos :)

JRandSue said...

Stunning macro Images.
John.