Feeding

Identification - Xylocopa confusa, carpenter bee.

This is a shot that I have been chasing since I first saw this mode of feeding, but just never quite managed to capture it clearly as the bee spends only a second at the bloom. I think I have put that right today. As soon as I pressed the shutter, the lens cap went on and I was on my way home.

The image shows how the large carpenter bee feeds from the base of the creeping foxglove bloom rather than entering through the bell. Many bugs use this method such as ants and small wasps. Oddly enough, the very large wasps go through the bell, but the carpenter bee is just too fat to fit.

Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together.

Dave