Beehave!

It wasn't until I downloaded this image that I found that there were two bees for the price of one! (I really didn't notice in the viewfinder). A bit of hanky panky going on here... as the song goes "birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it ..."

We went somewhere I have never been before, Auckland Botanic Gardens (it's completely the other side of Auckland to my sisters house, so a bit of a hike). I wish it was closer; it is excellent. I could have spent a very long time with the bugs, flowers and my camera.

This (I discovered with a bit of internet research) is a European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) from the Megachilidae family of bees. The interesting this is that they have only been found in New Zealand since 2006 and in Auckland since 2008. Originally from Europe (including England), they are a really pretty bee, rather like a blue banded bee in their hovering behaviour. The males are quite aggressive to other insects and the smaller females. I think the jury is still out as to whether they are going to be detrimental to other bee species. They have a definite preference for certain plants, including lambs ears (Stachys byzantina), which is where I found them. Females collect "down" from these plants, scraping the hairs from the leaves and then carry them back to their nests bundled beneath their bodies.