I know…you’ve seen my purple coneflowers before. More than once. I can’t help myself though…Echinacea is the backbone of my summer garden, loved by me, bees and butterflies. Mostly I have E. purpurea in various shades of purple but also the white flowering variety and Pale Purple Coneflower – Echinacea pallida, which self seeds as readily as its cousins, blooms earlier and is generally much taller with narrower rays/petals.
Every Thursday this winter I’ll post an image or two taken last summer. I found that 2024 sped by so quickly and was filled with so many events, both happy and sad, that I feel I didn’t have time to simply enjoy it – especially the garden. And so I’d like, for just a few moments a week this winter, to pretend it’s still summer. To remember and re-live for an instant the sun’s warmth, the insect and birdsong, the heavy fragrances on humid, moist, slow moving air. Feel free to join me! I’m going to try to find photos I haven’t already shared, which may prove difficult, I know, and just write a line or two of explanation.
My Apple iPad ID’d the bee as a ‘megachile.’ Cone flowers are so pretty!
Yes! Leafcutter bees, thanks!
….which is leaf cutting bee…using leaves for their nests.
😁
it’s fun to know ‘who’s who!’
I found this: crownbees.com
Lovely to see! I think it is a leafcutter bee: https://crownbees.myshopify.com/cdn/shop/files/Leafcutter_Bee7.jpg
Yes! And I found out there’s 1,520 species in the genus! I’ve been thinking them, and if I was a student again or a scientist I’d like to study them.
Great plant to have in the garden. I might have some Echinacea pallida –hadn’t really paid attention to them lately but I’ve been labeling them all as E. purpurea.
Close but no cigar eh? 😁
Beautiful flowers, and a leaf-cutter bee! They’re so cute, and you managed a good photo that shows how they carry their pollen on their abdomens, rather than on their legs, like honeybees.
You’re right – I hadn’t noticed that!
Well, I love the coneflowers Chris, but am learning about bees too thanks to your knowledgeable commenters! I saw some leaf-cutter bees nesting under a rose shrub in a pot last year, but must look at them closer this year… I could only identify them because they were cutting leaves. Amazing to watch! 😃
I noticed a lot of round holes in a redbud last year….I suspected leafcutter bees and now I know!