Yellow flower season

The fall is the time when all the yellow flowers come out.  There are so many daisylike yellow flowers I can't tell you what this one is.

 

Apiary

In a secluded part of the NC museum of Art's sculpture park, we found an apiary.  It was buzzing with activity.

The bees were not unfriendly, but it's probably best that they aren't in a more well used part of the park.

 

Tithonia

Finally the Tithonia is blooming.  The bees are happy about that.

 

Artichoke

The bees were very happy that no one harvested the artichokes.

 

Last of the pollinators

There were very few flowers still blooming in the park.  But the pollinators were hanging on.

A little bumble bee.

A skipper.

 

Crownbeard

The yellow Crownbeard was blooming profusely.  Both the bees and the beetles were enjoying themselves.

 

Bee balm

True to its name, Spotted Beebalm was hosting many insects.

I think these were wasps not bees, but they were happy.

 

Big Bee

This bee was so big he had trouble hanging onto the blue vetch flowers.  The vetch is not native to North America, but it has become common in wild areas.

 

Bee pollen

This bee was so loaded with pollen on its legs, I didn't think he could fly.  He matched the colors of the sunflower almost exactly.

 

Zinnia

This zinnia reminds me of fireworks on the fourth of July.

 

Milkweed

There is a movement to plant butterfly friendly native plants.  I see butterfly milkweed blooming everywhere.  So far lots of bees but no butterflies.

 

Incoming!

The bumble bees are loving the goldenrod.

 

Bumble

We see a lot of bumble bees in the garden, but not many honey bees.  This guy was chowing down on a Mexican sunflower.

 

Bee Balm

True to its name, there were bees in the bee balm.

 

Bee kind

This little rock is sitting in a bee house.  Do the bees recognize their picture?

 

Busy Bees

These bees were busy in the sunflower.

Coming in for a landing

The bees were busy in the blue false indigo.  (see here)

Busy Bees

The bees were busy in the milkweed.

No butterflies in sight though.

Bee welcome

There are bee houses that welcome critters

And others that are not so welcome.

Air Bee and Bee

This "Air Bee and Bee" is built for cavity dwelling bees.  They don't live in colonies like honey bees, they live individually in little tunnels.

This bee apartment gives them lots of choices about where they want to live.