Re-inhabited Bee Hive

Check out the big cool old bee nest that was hiding in the dark smelly silo! The more layers the more amazing it is to me - this one is about 1/3 the size of the largest I ever found, but even the tinest of these nests always sucks me into their miraculous construction. Or should I say meticulous? Fabulous? Insects sometimes seem to be the smartest creatures in the world, building such simple yet intricate homes - their lives are occasionally my envy. Never the length of it though.
This nest is now an apartment complex for ladybugs, micro centipedes, and a big long legged brown and black spider! The spider was aggressive and took me by surprise but didn't dare crawl onto my hand. He just went from layer to layer, in and out looking for a better place to hide from the flash of the camera. I decided to bring the whole gang inside the house with me and placed it in one of my plant pots. :)
XoXo

Teetsie Fly On Chocolate Mint

"Teetsie" is not this bug eyed fly's scientific name, it's just what my mom called little random bee flies in New Orleans. Fashionably large eyes (like a Disney character or brooklyn hipster sunglasses) and western fringe on it's back legs - this bug seems kinda sleek, hip and modern. This is one of those flies that lands on you and licks your arm all up and down during the summer - they never bite unless you try to squish them... which is when I bite too.

XoXOoo

'Hummingbird Bee' (Name This Insect)

I have no idea if this is really a bee, and it's not a hummingbird either - but it behaves and looks just like a tiny micro hummingbird - feeding off the same flowers, beating it's wings in a blur, zipping from flower to flower. Plus it's shiny, fuzzy and has a little faux bird tail. The wings and patterns though are more like a dragonfly or bumble bee, looking transparent with a more opaque border on wing, striped on the body. And even though the body looks like a moth, it's wings are not like a moth at all. This neato little thing is like the duckbill platypus of the insect world!
There are two of them in these pics, one more beat up then the other...
xoxooo

Hornets Nest

Check out this glob of danger! All these hornets were sitting calmly on the nest vibrating their wings, and tucking in for the evening. There were two separate nests -the large one and the smaller new one right next door (guess there was a break in the community?) These guys are always on my porch pollinating all my plants but their nest is out back under the eaves of the shed. We are very good friends. :) Do you feel scared...like maybe I got too close? I probably did.

Bees and Friends

There is the coolest variety of bees and wasps in Western North Carolina! Here are some pics of the bees and their friends working their wings off to pollinate every last flower. So fuzzy and cute, I want to pet them...well most of them.