Gloria's Insects: Unscheduled flyover in the garden last week...

Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

(My best guess/i.d.: Bee on blossom is a Long-horned Bee -- I mean, look at her antennae! -- with a green eye to boot! Related to the Honeybees, but the Long-horns nest in the ground.

The bee in flight may be a Western Leafcutter Bee, a common summer pollinator in our region. The green-eyed males are known to guard flowers in "their" territory -- like this one is doing now -- and can be aggressive towards other bees. The females, like the Long-Horned Bees, nest in the ground.)

--Gloria Z. Nagler