Thursday, August 4, 2016

Earthwise Cosmonauts


This is the time of the year to look for cosmonauts in the garden. Jasna Guy and I made a special trip to the Earthwise Garden and Farm in Delta to check out gardens which demonstrate sound ecological practice. It's a lovely place, alive with birds and bees.



The adjacent Delta Community Farm also featured some cosmonauts.


This leaf cutter cuckoo bee (Coelyoxis) sports little devil horn spikes on its thorax.


This species has slightly smokey wing tips.


In this photo you can see the gnarly spikes on the tip of its abdomen. Leafcutters and leafcutter cuckoos have little Michelin tires on their abdomens.


In spite of not being a pollen collector, that little moustache carries a few grains  of it around from flower to flower.


This male mellisodes has a fairly hairy body.


There may have been some leafcutter action on one of the petals here.


Although here it looks like the abdominal hairs are rubbing off



It amazing how bees can make you fall in love with common garden flowers all over again.

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