Oh, what long antennae you have! All the better to...smell the flowers with!
This is the Japanese Long Horned Bee, Eucera nipponensis. Its Japanese name: ニッポンヒゲナガハナバチ translates to "Long Beard Flower Bee" and while it is quite hirstute, none of that really forms a beard.
Click the images to open a larger version!
This view really draws attention to just how long the antennae are:
The length and shape of bee antennae are a useful way to tell them apart from bee mimicing flies, as flies usually have very short club like antennae and most honey bees have antennea that are articulated and about as long as the head. The Long Horned Bee however, has antennae as long as it's body!
The males it seems have antennea that are longer than the females, but I only had a sample size of one, so I cannot be sure which this was. I'm leaning towards male as those are some very long antennae.
This little bee, just a shade larger than a European Honey Bee, was very busy going from blossom to blossom.
These particular flowers deposited a great deal of pollen on the bee's back as it visisted the flowers.
All of that hair makes it a very good pollinator!
One more of this bee having a feast!
Remember, treat bees with kindness! We literally depend on them for all of our fruits.
Let the dandelions grow! Plant local wildflowers too, they are pretty and a good source of food for the bees!
Have a great day!
