Here’s a nice profile of a longhorn bee. Their eyes…the color and the pattern. They intrigue me. Beautiful and perfect with the aesthetic. This one is fairly clean as longhorns go. They’re often covered. They don’t groom as often or well as honeybees do. At least that I’ve noticed.
And none of them seemed to quite get it in whatever bee kindergarten they didn’t attend. They rarely share and rarely play nicely with others. If they have a flower, they’ll defend it. If someone else is on a flower, they’ve got no compunction about knocking that someone off and taking it. The only exception I’ve noticed is on the larger sunflowers. Occasionally they won’t bother another bee and will work the other side.
They’re one of my favorites to shoot. They are interesting and complex from all angles. Just a beautiful creature.
And, again, the sunflower. Weeds according to some. But gems according to the pollinators. Plant some. Let them seed themselves and wander through your yard from season to season. They’ll take over for a season…then seed and begin again – there and elsewhere. One of my favorites.
