What Bee is this?

in gardening •  7 years ago  (edited)

Hey everyone, more bee's, I wasn't lying when I said I really like them. So I have these gazania's that I planted outside my cottage a few months ago and they naturally need daily watering nurturing etc and in doing so I often see the odd cute little visitor.

On this particular occasion it was two, a really small slender bee and an Argentinian black ant. To get an idea of how small the Bee is compare it to the ant in a few of the below pics.

20180313_122103.jpg

The ant..

20180313_122043.jpg

The bee...

20180313_122023.jpg

Now if you look at them both together knowing how tiny an Argentinian black ant is you will notice the size of the bee. It is very slender relative to a normal bee, body shape and coloration almost the same maybe slightly more pale than a traditional 'African Killer Bee' but literally around 1-3 of the size.

20180313_122034.jpg

An interesting thing about the Gazania is that it only opens when the sun shines on the flower and closes every night.

20180313_122029.jpg

A coincidental get together?

20180313_122037.jpg

Which begs the question, what species of bee is this?

I trust you have an amazing weekend.
Cheer$;)

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Amazing picture.. follow back and upvote..thankyou

O do like the Gazanias as they are indeed amazing looking !While as for the bees have really no idea of them ;)

They do sure make the garden more beautiful I guess !

Hi @craigcryptoking
Try sending the pics to the folks at http://www.beeware.co.za/ in Centurion. They do all things that are BEES
Have yourself a fabulous weekend!

Aww thanks a ton really appreciate that.. I see you are a new South African here? Welcome ;)

Without your size description I would have said it was a honeybee.

My next guess is a small mason bee.

Gotta love them pollinators!

I know that ants are also good for many obscure reasons, but those little Argentinean ants are, absolutely, annoying. They come by the millions. As for the bee, I think they can be tough to identify. I just checked and there are about 360 different kinds of bees in San Diego County alone, about 1,400 in California. Good luck with that. Happy bee hunting!

It looks like the same bee that mommy & Tracey have. Ask em Boet

Lets bee corny. . . To bee or not to bee, That is the question. . .
To quote Shakespear, I couldn't resist that!! LoL

LOL Dad hehe ..

These are great pictures—I love the little get-together in your garden!