Most of the insects that I have observed feeding on Virginia Spring Beauty wildflowers (Claytonia virginica) have been equally small in size. I was a bit shocked, therefore, earlier this week to spot a large Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) gathering nectar and/or pollen from a small patch of Spring Beauties at Prince William Forest Park. The bee looked to be at least twice as large as each tiny flower. Wow!
The lighting was quite good and the bee was a bit distracted, so I was able to zoom in close and capture a lot of the details of the bee. I particularly like the speckled green eyes that look like they were carved out of a semiprecious stone. You can also see the bee’s tiny feet as it grasped the edges of the flower. I encourage you to click on the photos, especially the first one, to get a better look at the bee.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.