Violet Carpenter Bee

Continuing the mini beast miscellany, I noticed on my home village forum a call to look out for Xylocopa Violacea, with a stern warning that it is not the asian hornet and is generally good natured and is also Europe's largest bee.

Walking out into the garden beside the pool, on the buddleia, there she was.

I'll continue to attempt a bee in flight shot, but she is extremely agile; fast and erratic in her movements. Not to mention it's quite breezy here today, which at least makes the high twenties temperatures more bearable.

The gite guests arrived at two this morning, and we've largely finished the toughest part off the gardening for Wendy, with half a dozen large bags of green waste dropped off at the déchetterie.

It's almost beer o'clock again (no-one said there had only to be one a day) and the pool's unoccupied... time to relax. Again. ;-)