Monday, April 7, 2014

The Loudest Buzz

The wisteria is in bloom! The flowers drip from the arbor in a display that is both eye catching and nose arresting. The scent is unmistakable and alluring, so I approach for a closer look and a deeper intake of the wonderfully perfumed air.


That's when I hear the sound. The loudest buzz you will ever hear. My shoulders instinctively come up to ears and my head sinks down deep into my clavicle. That's the buzz of dozens of carpenter bees as they zip from one flower to the next.


The buzz isn't just for show. The carpenter bee has powerful thoracic muscles that literally buzz the pollen right out of the flowers. 


Carpenter bees are often mistaken for bumble bees, but one good look at their shiney hiney will let you know that they are carpenters bees.


The eastern carpenter bee moves from flower to flower giving me an opportunity at a few sequential shots.




Most of the other bees are not so considerate, but my camera and I are on a mission. 


I thought this black bee might be a mason bee, but on closer inspection, I'm not so sure. He seems kinda pudgy for a mason bee. He may be a mountain carpenter bee, but who knows. With over 700 species of carpenter bees, it would probably bee-hoove me to do more research. 



Bee good and have a fun spring!



7 comments:

  1. Your wisteria is beautiful. I blinked and missed mine thus year. Glad you got pics before this nasty weather

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  2. Oh, so beautiful, bees and blooms. Lovely photos of your wisteria and its visiting bees.

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  3. The wisteria is beautiful. And, another memory from my childhood....the color and the scent. And, the bees.

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  4. I LOVE Wisteria. Growing up we had it surrounding the fence around the pool. Love love love it. Too pretty! Great shots!

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  5. Those bees look like they are the size of hummingbirds in the first two photos. The wisteria looks great.

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  6. So beautiful! Those purple cascading flowers and wonderful smell is heavenly. It is definitely where I would want to be if I were a bee;)

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