TT 439...bees!

So excited!! I was admiring the flowers on this bottlebrush this morning when I noticed a great deal of bee activity. On closer inspection I saw 6 or more of our native Blue Banded bees! I've not seen them here before so raced in for the camera. They are so gorgeous!

"Blue Banded Bees are amongst our most beautiful Australian native bees. They are about 11 mm long and have bands of metallic blue fur across their black abdomens.
Blue Banded Bees are solitary bees. This means that each female bee mates and then builds a solitary nest by herself. She builds her nest in a shallow burrow in clay soil or sometimes in mudbricks. Many Blue Banded Bees may build their nest burrows in the same spot, close to one another, like neighbouring houses in a village.
Blue Banded Bees can perform a special type of pollination called 'buzz pollination'. Some flowers hide their pollen inside tiny capsules. A Blue Banded Bee can grasp a flower of this type and shiver her flight muscles, causing the pollen to shoot out of the capsule. She can then collect the pollen for her nest and carry it from flower to flower, pollinating the flowers. Quite a few of our native Australian flowers require buzz pollination eg Hibbertia, Senna." (from Aussiebee.com.au)

I see the challenge for today was money but I think that this is my money shot(s) for the day! More in extras