Nature's Place

Mother Carpenter Bee making the nest early 2013 – a rare appearance as she tossed debris

Male Carpenter Bee feeding on nearby flowers

The best I could get – he’s big and fast – I was lucky

It’s a male Carpenter Bee, I think. It has been occupying the nest excavated in 2013 by the female/mother – I believe – Carpenter Bee. The nest is in a two inch thick stick I had to secure to a metal rod after it rotted in the ground – soft wood.

Then I built the no-till garden beds and recently, a week or so ago, sowed some seed that needed shade from the hot sun, and the shade got in the bees way of returning home – that I noticed one day, having already missed it.

So I remedied the situation, I thought, only to find something else had acted to block the nest for a short while. And no bee to be seen for days now. I wonder if it has another nest somewhere …

I doubt its little heart could survive the rigours of homelessness for long, not like people do. People, it seems, can adapt to almost anything … almost.

We can usually retreat, recover and renew – if the situation allows.

*And just after posting this he returned to the nest.

© Mark Berkery … CLICK any picture to enlarge in a new tab …

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