More Native Bees

[The15thMember]

Our flower border around our vegetable garden is buzzing with bees of all kinds right now.  My sister caught this bee yesterday and brought it in for me to ID.  She's really big, bigger than a honey bee, and bigger than a lot of the bumble bee workers out and about right now.  I knew right away she was from the family Megachilidae since she had scopa on her abdomen for carrying pollen and big mandibles.  Using Discover Life, BugGuide, and the NC Biodiversity project, I'm pretty sure the species is Megachile inermis, the Unarmed Leafcutter Bee.  Don't ask me why she's called that.    She was back on the sulphur cosmos this morning, and was good enough to hold still for some pictures. 

[The15thMember]

I saw another new bee on the flower border today, well sort of a new bee.  I saw a male bumble bee, of the species Bombus vagans, the Half-black Bumble Bee.  I could tell he was a male because of his unkempt hair and his big eyes, and the way he was lazily moving from flower to flower, instead of looking busy like the females.  I'm also sure because I caught him in my hand, and he didn't sting me.