Well, gosh, darn it. My attempt to post more frequently is not going as well as I had hoped. In fact, I'd say no change so far. But after posting regularly on this blog for 8 years, I'd say it's pretty remarkable that I am even still doing it. Especially since there is no theme to guide the posts. Well, it's either remarkable or I don't know when to quit. But I'm going to give it a go again. : )
 |
Here's another time Annie was not happy
after a trip to the vet. |
Last week was filled with appointments and meetings plus the ever-present work. We are moving ahead on the porch that we want to replace our rotting deck with and had another meeting with the architect. Now we are starting to contact contractors. The cats had to go to the vet where she found both of Annie's ears infected. Let's just say Annie is NOT fond of the drops she needs twice a day. I hosted my book club where we discussed a very interesting book (more on that another day). And we're still figuring out what to do with our good crop of pears. And yadda, yadda, yadda or if you prefer, blah, blah, blah. You know, just a lot more of the same.
Now onto the subject of the day:
Bumble bees vs. Carpenter bees
It wasn't that many years ago when I didn't know that carpenter bees and bumble bees weren't the same thing. I just called every big bee that was gold and black a bumblebee. Well, doing my Second Looks taught me differently. I learned that bumblebees are fuzzy on the end and carpenter bees are smooth and shiny on the end. (I know entomologists are out there screaming with my over simplification, but you gotta start somewhere.) See below. These pictures were taken a couple of years ago at my old house.
 |
| Bumblebee on the left and carpenter bee on the right. Notice fuzzy vs. shiny. |
 |
| Carpenter bees may not always desirable to have around. Notice the round holes on the fence board above the woodpecker. Those were made by carpenter bees and our fence is full of them. They can do the same thing to your house. However, they are good pollinators just like other bees. |
 |
Here's your quiz. Look carefully. Is this a bumblebee or a carpenter bee on this Mexican sunflower.
(Hint: Is it shiny?) |
Until next time, Happy Trails to you ....
Hmm, I can't quite tell, but I'm going to hazard a guess at bumblebee. My eyes aren't what they used to be.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of bees, while we were on vacation last week, we hiked a beautiful mountain which was covered with huge wildflowers (around 4 to 5 feet tall). We could hear a constant buzzing of bees (sorry, don't know what kind) but it wasn't threatening to us as the bees had plenty of nectar options to choose from.
Depending on your display, this could be a hard picture to make a determination with. It's a bumblebee. You were right. Carpenter bees really do have a shiny abdomen.
DeleteThe mountain covered with wildflowers sounds beautiful. And I have found the same thing that you did. Bees are not interested in me at all if they have plenty of flowers around.
I am going to say carpenter bee, although it could be just its wing that is shiny in the photo.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've been busy, lately. Poor Annie; hope her ears get better, soon.
It's hard to see in the picture, but it's a bumble bee.
DeleteIt doesn't help that Annie's brother, Leo, has decided that he needs to lick her ears now. I don't know if it's the meds or what because he was doing a little bit of it before she started them. Let's just say that Leo is an interesting, sometimes annoying cat.
Someone told me carpenter bees are good pollinators. Course they were selling birch (maybe) bee houses, basically a piece of wood with small holes drilled in it for the bees to live.
ReplyDeleteI have read that they are good pollinators, also, and have seen them on flowers. However, I'm not fond of them destroying things.
DeleteI just recently saw in a book where someone took a log and drilled a bunch of holes in it for bees and I've thought about doing that. But I'm not sure. Gonna have to think some more.
Beautiful nature pics
ReplyDelete