Solitary Bee

A tiny solitary bee gathers pollen from yarrow flowers. She carries it on her hairy back legs, and will take it to her underground nursery. New Zealand has about 40 different solitary bees, mostly endemic. This one is about 6mm long, but I have seen some as big as honeybees and some very small indeed. The other day there was a black speck on my kitchen workbench. When I brushed it aside it quickly regained its position. I had to take a really close macro to see what it was. It was only 1mm long, but the shape was unmistakeable.

They are usually shiny black, but this one reflects colours in the sunlight.

In extra shot: summer in the mountains- the east face of Castle Hill Peak (left) and The Gap has no snow left. At 7am the heat shimmer makes a sharp shot impossible.

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