I'm forever.....

..... blowing bubbles.

A visit to the delightful State Native Plant Nursery at Belair National Park this afternoon delivered pure, sweet gold.

This place is a haven for native bees, and is therefore a very happy hunting ground for me. Trouble is I always end up spending far too much money on far too many plants. But you can't really have too many plants, and if they attract these stunning little bees to my garden, then I'm all for it.

I am in the process of pulling out all my South African daisies, the agapanthus, and anything else that crowds out our gorgeous natives.

I think my current love affair with Australian plants started when we visited the Stokes Native Garden on Kangaroo Island a couple of years ago. But now I'm getting serious!

Anyway, to get back to this bee. He was very easy to photograph because he was sitting still, blowing a bubble and then sucking back in again. And he did it over and over again. Then he'd go back into the flower, eat a bit more, and repeat the process.

Pop!!

Although very small (most less than 8 mm long), the glittering Homalictus bees come in a dazzling array of colours. ‘Golden blue’, ‘coppery red’ and ‘green tinged with purple, red or gold’ are just a few of the colours listed by scientists. Homalictus bees dig intricate branching nests in the ground. Many females may live together in each nest, taking turns to guard the narrow nest entrance. One nest was found to be occupied by over 160 females!

There are 44 Australian species of this lovely little bee. Which was is this? I haven't a clue. Sorry.