End of year favourites - Bees

Bees continue to fascinate me - honey bees, bumblebees and perhaps solitary bees most of all.  Although the weather in the spring and early summer was poor I have seen more species than ever in the garden but others out and about as well.  Here are a few favourites from the past year.

A queen red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius).

Male hairy-footed flower bees (Anthophora plumipes).

A bilberry mining bee (Andrena lapponica).

A queen early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum).

A male Willoughby's leafcutter bee (Megachile willughbiella).

A female red mason bee (Osmia bicornis) returning to her nest with a mouthful of mud.

A female tawny mining bee (Andrena fulva).

A queen honey bee (Apis mellifera) and her attendant workers.

A female ashy mining bee (Andrena cineraria).

A male fork-tailed flower bee (Anthophora furcata).

A female yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus spp.) swallowing pollen.

Hopes for next year include photos of a leaf-cutter cutting leaves, a leaf-cutter returning to the nest with cut leaves, a mason bee collecting mud, a honey bee collecting propolis, and a bilberry bumblebee (Bombus montana).  Perhaps even an ivy bee (Andrena hederae).