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Mason bees?

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  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Fire said:
    "I don't want to look like a nutter".


    I suspect that looking like a nutter is the leading edge of all human discovery. Embrace it and celebrate, I say. You could think of it as broadening the definitions of mental health.

    I don't feel so bad about spending ages trying to photograph the iridescence on a worm now. It wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get the angle right but this is the best photo I could get. It was a lot more vivid to the naked eye.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Back on topic: I managed to get a slightly better photo of the facial horn on the mason bee female. That's the best ID clue to look for, especially later in the year when their colour is faded and they've lost some fuzz.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Great pictures.
  • LeadFarmerLeadFarmer Posts: 1,500
    edited May 2021
    Fire said:
    Fascinating, I never knew their lifecycle, or that of bees in general.
    I have one of Pilkingtons bumble bee nest boxes but don't have anywhere to site it this year until landscape work has finished in my garden
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I hope that @Pyra and everyone else is ok as using this as a general bee info thread .... (?)
  • LeadFarmerLeadFarmer Posts: 1,500
    Fire said:
    Just been watching one of his videos on bee ID when compared to flies. I didn't realise that many flies have evolved to look just like bees.

    All bees have 2 pairs of wings and long antennas whereas flies have one pair of wings and short stubby antennas 

    Fly




    Bee


  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited May 2021
    Yes, bees have four wings, flies have two, but sometimes it very hard to tell.
  • It is easier to distinguish them from the antennae - flies have stubby antennae on their face, bees have long antennae on top of the head.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I was surprised to see that the middle channel has taken two weeks to build up and still isn't finished. I'm not sure if this is 'normal' or if the wind, the cold days, cold nights or lack of pollen close by has had an impact.

    Bees seems to be curl up together sleeping in the empty channels at night (four or five), which is good to see. Not so 'solitary' after all.






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