The warmer weather this week brought with it many bee sightings, including Honey bees (Apis mellifera). The plants where they were most abundant were the Californian Lilac (the Ceanothus seen in the first photo) and the Cotoneaster in the second photo. Both Shrubs, full of small flowers, are loved by Honey bees. In fact there were so many bees on them that the amazing buzzing sound filled the air.
There were also lots of Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) on the Cotoneaster too, as shown below.
This hasn’t been the only time I noticed Tree Bumblebees this week. This the weekend I was walking around a local charity allotment when I saw a bird box being occupied by bees. This is a commonly used structure for Tree Bumblebees.
I was also lucky to notice three female Hairy-footed flower bees (Anthophora plumipes) while weeding a border. These are solitary bees who care for their own young; however they can live within close proximity to one another. The three that I noticed had nests in the bare earth about 10cms apart. The females are black with yellow legs. Unfortunately I was not able to obtain a decent photo of them for this post.
Other observations this week have included more Seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata), Holly blue butterflies (Celastrina argiolus) and Orange-tip butterflies (Anthocharis cardamines).
I have also managed to go on a couple of short walks this week and discovered more wildflowers blooming. These were;
– Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare).
The Ox-eye daisy flowers were originally used for the ‘He loves me, he loves me not’ petal plucking activity.
* Dog-rose (Rosa canina). The hips from this plant are enjoyed by blackbirds (Turdus merula), Redwings. (Turdus iliacus) and Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus). They are also used to make syrups and jellies to be used in winter (due to the very high vitamin C content). The hips from this rose also contain irritating hairs which can be used as itching powder.
-Smooth sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus)
– Common Vetch (Vicia sativa). This plant is a member of the Legume family so it causes nitrogen fixation in the soil therefore it can be used as a soil fertilizer.
On my way home from one of my walks I manage to capture this Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) on a photo too.
This weekend I saw this Feral Pigeon (Columba livia domestica) as I enjoyed a coffee.
I couldn’t resist adding this photo, sadly it doesn’t do it justice. When the sun shone, the green and purple neck feathers where incredibly vibrant and against the unusual white; I thought it was beautiful.
Bee in the Moment 