Bee-watching is a wonderful distraction from the stresses of life. I can definitely recommend it for a warm, sunny afternoon as spring turns to summer.
Bee among Mullein flowers. Yes, it is there! About halfway up, to the right of the plant’s stem.
Bumblebees seem to love California poppies. Most of them are black with yellow heads and a nifty yellow stripe across the bum. There are also some fuzzy-looking yellow-brown ones, but I didn’t get any pictures of them. (Taking decent pictures of bees is hard).
Note the bum stripe!
Possibly a wasp in the pink California poppy.
Honeybees favour the lavender almost exclusively. (And being smaller and a subdued orange-brown colour, they don’t show up well).
The bee is in the centre of the picture, to the right of the red of geranium flowers in the background. Enlarge and you will see it.
Note: bee-watching is not relaxing when the watcher is trying to take pictures of the bees. For best results, leave the camera/phone in the house!
Audrey Driscoll's Blog 