Buff-tailed bee (19.12.13)

Buff-tailed bee (19.12.13), a photo by Linda Yarrow on Flickr.

This is the Buff-tailed bumblebee in my garden today. This bumblebee is still out and about through the winter, particularly if it is mild. This plant, the Mahonia is a great source of food for it during the winter months.

A Brimstone Butterfly in My Garden!

Brimstone butterfly, a photo by Linda Yarrow on Flickr.

A fantastic day of butterflies in my garden today!!! This Brimstone was a surprise, it's a first time I've had this butterfly in my garden. My butterfly count today on my buddleias:

8 - Small Tortoiseshell
3 - Peacocks
2 - Silver-washed Fritillarys
1 - Red Admiral
1 - Brimstone
4 - Large Whites

Tawny Mining Bee

Tawny Mining Bee, a photo by Linda Yarrow on Flickr.

I bought myself a Lumix DMC-TZ25 camera. I took this picture using the macro, it has been heavily cropped but the results are good, well pleased with the camera. I got it for my handbag so everywhere I go I have a camera with me and no missed opportunities, I hope:-) This is a Tawny Mining Bee, it is tiny and it does not sting.

Snowdrops

Snowdrops, a photo by Linda Yarrow on Flickr.

Snowdrops in my garden. These little beauties are like jewels in a crown, shining brightly despite what the weather has thrown at them. I have several in my garden and each year I add new ones. They are all flowering even those whose bulbs I accidentally dug up during the summer and replanted them else where in the garden.

Father and Son (or Daughter)

While I was busy doing my last post 'The Chilly North' there was quite a bit of noise in my garden, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers on the nutfeeder, a male and its young.  The noise was coming from the juvenile, wanting his (or her) Dad to give it some peanuts.  Lovely to watch.  The GS Woodpecker adult and young have been visiting my garden now for about three weeks and I have noticed that it is the male GS Woodpecker that does the feeding, this I also saw last year.  I very quickly got my camera and took these pictures through the lounge window.

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.