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Tue, Jul 10, 12 at 11:43
| I was out admiring my flowers yesterday and while checking out all the insect activity around the bog sage I saw what looked a really small bee. At first I thought it was a little wasp, but then I noticed that it had faint stripes and a little bit of fuzz on it's body and pollen sacks on it's legs. It was probably less than a quarter of the size of a normal honeybee, I've never seen or heard of such a bee before. But after noticing one I saw another later on in the same patch of sage, they are so little they can climb into the sage flower the way a bumblebee climbs into a nasturtium.
Are they common and I just never knew about them before? Or it is not a bee at all and I'm completely mistaken? I'm suddenly very curious. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by hosenemesis SoCal Sunset 19 USDA (My Page) on Tue, Jul 10, 12 at 18:03
| Good job! You are attracting native bees to your yard. There are lots of species, each with their plant preferences. You can encourage more by putting up a bee house for them. I drill different sized holes two inches deep into a piece of 4x4 lumber and put a little slanted roof on it. There are some elaborate designs out there- you can make the bee house a feature of your garden. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Insect houses
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| There are many species of native mason, leafcutter, and digger bees. Some nest in wood holes or holes in the ground. They are solitary bees and live short lives. But they did evolve with our native plants. Penny |
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