With Summer just around the corner, the garden is beginning to fill with bees. NATIVE bees! Over a dozen species and hundreds of individuals were found during a causal stroll this weekend – the diversity of the garden’s plants is doing its job. One family that is
Leaf-cutter bees are already emerging from nests created by adult females this (2021) season. This bee had to deal with spider webs on its very first flight, highlighting the challenges all of these animals face each and every day.
At least two species of leaf-cutters are breeding in the bee apartments placed throughout the garden. They are busily provisioning individual tubes with pollen and nectar.
Many of the Leaf-cutter bees are concentrating on Bush Sunflower (Encelia californica) for their pollen and nectar collecting.