Golden

I went out this morning, as I usually do, to meander around the garden, poking under leaves and into hidden places looking for ... things.  I nearly missed this longhorn bee who was tucked all the way deep inside a day lily.  I knew immediately that it was something new for me so I did my best to get a couple of usable images, this being the best.  And a few minutes later, I found another one tucked into some rudbeckia petals - definitely something going on!  

As best as I can tell, this is Peponapis Pruinosa (Prionose Squash bee, or Eastern Cucurbit Bee) in the long-horned bee tribe.  Interestingly, the females can only feed their larva the pollen from plants in the cucurbit family (gourds, squash, cucumbers).  And since I don't grow veggies, I am assuming one of my neighbors does.  The female bees lay their eggs in pollen-provisioned ground nests, each female with her own burrow since they are solitary bees.  The males are on their own and sleep wherever they can find a suitably sheltered place.  You can bet I will be scouring the garden in the mornings now, looking for more.  Like all solitary bees and wasps, these are not aggressive creatures and you'd really have to work to get yourself stung by one.  

It is another stinking hot day with temps hovering at 90F but at least the humidity is a bit lower today so it feels less like a sauna outside.  Not that I should be complaining since people in the southeastern states are really living in sauna-like conditions right now.  I pity the families that are vacationing in Orlando this week!

Had a nice long FT chat with mom and dad this morning.  They are also under a heat advisory with temps hovering around 100 F, so they are staying close to home and keeping cool.  

We watched "A Time To Kill" last night - great movie and we both enjoyed it very much.  And what a great cast!

Since it's too hot to really do anything outside this afternoon, I guess I'll do a little cleaning and then maybe curl up with a book for a while.  

Thanks for stopping by!

xo
Debbi