I was delighted to spot some Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) during a trip last week to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. This spring ephemeral plant has beautiful bell-shaped sky-blue flowers and is native to eastern North America. The bees seemed to be equally excited to see these flowers. My photos suggest that the bees, which appear to be Carpenter Bees, were getting to the nectar through the tube of the flowers rather than through the bell.
I really like the varied shades of blues and pinks in the bluebells in different shades of development. The colors work well together, sometimes even combining to produce a lovely shade of violet.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
All three are beautiful photos but the middle one really stunned me. The clarity and contrast of the bee against the muted green background and hanging flowers is extraordinary. Nature presented the perfect photo and you captured it for sure. Thanks again.
Thanks so much for your kind comments, Ann. I had to watch and wait for the bees to cooperate and land on the flowers near to me, but eventually it happened.
I only recently learned about the practice of ‘nectar robbing’ — maybe a year or so ago. Such clever bees! And such pretty flowers, with the blue and pink looking like a pastel sunset.
I think I encountered “nectar robbing” as a term more than ten years ago when I was first getting serious about taking pictures. Here is a link to one of my earliest postings that spoke of this phenomenon. https://michaelqpowell.com/2012/08/06/reflections-on-a-bee/
Oh Mike, these are very beautiful. The middle image is particularly so. Such a lovely mix of pleasing colours and great composition!
Great series of images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!