Making friends with our bees ...

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Our diy bee nest thingy has been popular. I was lucky enough to see this lass carrying a bit of leaf into the hole -



Some of our sunflowers are just starting to flower, a few from seeds from last year's plants, and the first of the freebie Californian poppies flowered yesterday.

I must remember to get more bee pics!

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Football Manager 2010 ...

Here's some video of a red mason bee* sealing the entrance to a nest tube drilled in a block of wood -

Red mason bee sealing nest hole - YouTube

This year I had the new nest hole block in position by the end of February, with the first [red mason] bee seen entering a nest hole on March 31st. Then we had a long wet cold spell and the first nest hole was plugged on May 11th. The video was taken on May 12th and was 11m 05s long before editing.



* I think!

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It wasn't just FM10, Skyrim must take some of the blame for my lack of updates. But I've finally got the insect pics into some kind of order.

First bees of 2012: March 30th on an ornamental cherry tree -



This might be a female Anthophora plumipes


Also March 30th, on Scabious flowers -




NB - I'm rubbish at identifying bees (and other insects). Feel free to correct any mistaken IDs I make.

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Again, March 30th

Scabious flower with Red Admiral

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April 17th, some interest being shown in the nest holes, but none full yet.



A lot of the time there would be a bee or two peeking out of her nest hole watching the world [me] go by.



I'd read that bees didn't like a dusty, splintered nest hole but it seems the bees don't read the same websites as me.

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April 25th and the buzz is starting to go round that there are dez-rezzzzzz available.

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May 11th, the first nest hole is full and the entrance sealed.

Partly done


The finishing touches


A job well done

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May 19th

Several nest holes now full


It's much busier too, with bees constantly coming and going


Started noticing some bees using different building materials. This is the bee on the right in the previous pic, and her nest hole

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May 25th

Starting to think I didn't drill enough holes!


Mystery yellow stuff


Mystery solved


Easy to see why solitary bees are such good pollinators!

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Still May 25th.

Starting to think I'm seeing several different species of bee, but I'm really not sure. Is the one on the left different from the one on the right?


I'm pretty sure these aren't red mason bees ...


... but I realized how little I know about our solitary bees. Bee blindness! I can't tell them apart.

Along came a spider


And a red tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) on one of the alliums

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May 27th on the alliums

One of these


A red tailed bumblebee


And one of these

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May 27th

A bee, a flower


Hoverfly on Armeria


Buff tailed bumblebee male on lupin


9:05pm, gloomy and chilly, there is still action at the bee nests

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May 29th on the alliums

Male white tailed bumblebee


Hairy stripy thing with wings

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May 29th on one of the lupins

Female buff tailed bumblebee

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May 30th Harlequin ladybirds mating on a sunflower

I didn't think they'd mind as they already had an audience


But as soon as I started using the flash the female took offence and marched off with the male still on her back


Looking for a little privacy


So I left them in peace ...