Bee-lieve it!

On these hot days, I try to get any outside stuff done as early as possible … goat feeding, gardening, that sort of thing. That done, I was just sort of idling and mindlessly perusing  the garden, watching magpies dart in to swipe goat-bread for their babies, and  the baby maggies – who are pretty much as big as their parents now, and only distinguishable by the grey breast and lack of adult girth – with their squawking and begging.

I happened to notice some European bees trundling around inside a pumpkin flower, so I sprinted for the camera, and they obliged by staying put long enough to have their portraits taken.

Then it crossed my mind that it was a pity that, despite numerous attempts over the years, I’d never managed to catch their much smaller and fleeter-of-wing counterparts, the native blue banded bees.

Of course, as soon as that thought raced through my brain, I noticed that said fat little navy blue guys were getting busy around the salvias.

Somehow, I doubt I’ll ever get to check for myself whether they DO in fact have pale blue stripes on their tiny tummies, but I finally got my photo [ and this time it only took about thirty tries ]

… and you might want to click on the photo to see just how fast those wee wings are going!