Cutting Leaves...

I discovered a new (to me) bee in the garden this morning, a type of leafcutter bee in the megachilidae family.  If my research is correct, this is a European Wool Carder Bee (Anthidium manicatum).  There were two of them zipping around one of my foxglove, seemingly engaged in some sort of territorial dispute.  Very interesting to watch and lots of fun trying to get pictures as they only landed for the briefest moments.

They get their name  'carder' from their behavior of scraping hair from leaves such as lamb's ears. They carry this hair bundled beneath their bodies to be used as a nest lining.  Like other members of the tribe Anthidiini, these bees do not cut leaves or petals as is typical for megachilids.


It was another macro kind of day, although I did take Big Daddy out for a hike --even so, most of the shots I took were dragons and butterflies.  


Most peculiar ... I checked the swallow nest yesterday and all the feathers had been removed, BUT the egg was still there.  And today, I saw two males chasing each other through the yard with one returning to sit in the nest box.  Every time I went out front today, there was a swallow in the box looking out at me, so I didn't dare open the box.  Not sure what is going on, but I'm sure it will all eventually become clear.   I hope...


Got a text from our nephew's wife today and they are going to be in the NY area this weekend so are coming out to stay with us Sunday night with their new baby, Nathan, and their dog - so exciting!!  We haven't seen them for a little over a year and haven't met Nathan or Lacy (the dog) yet.  I can't wait!!


Tomorrow I'm off to meet up with my nature walking group.  We are heading to an area that is known for odes so I think I'll take the 28-300 lens and the D750.  That is a good lens in that it allows me to get close as well as zoom in for the more "shy" species.  Should be fun.


Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back later to post a link to some pics on Flickr - just as soon as Flickr stops acting up and lets me upload.  Success - four additional pics on Flickr, starting HERE  In the meantime, I've posted a honeybee and a furry bumble bee in Extras.  


Toodles...