I've been away from home for two weeks and only now able to up date the blog. For the first week I was in France in a beautiful area near Vimoutiers. While visiting someones garden i saw this fabulous bee - just look at the size of it!
My friend who knows lots about bees did mention what it's called, but i forgot to write it down - so i'll add it later.
Up date: after doing a bit of searching on-line i reckon this bee is a Violet Carpenter Bee Xylocopa violacea. It's a solitary bee and one of the largest in Europe. It nests in dead wood - the genus name Xylocopa comes from the Greek noun xylon = wood and the Greek verb copto = to cut.
Yikes! I wouldn't want to meet one of those on my picnic! And you say you were only stung once and by a dead bee? How did you manage that?
ReplyDeleteYes it's a Carpenter Bee - the females can sting but not the males. ...and yes they are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHi Paul
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. Watching this bee feeding on flowers was mesmerizing as its colours flashed blue and purple - very beautiful.