"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Mary Fisher" writes:
|
| But black looking bees are normally honey bees
|
| ???

Yes. In the UK, the most common black looking bee is the melanistic
form of the honey bee.

Black bees are pretty rare though.

| IF they are honey bees and the compost is moist they might visit it for
| water but they'd only sit on the surface to sip it.

They might crawl through 1/2" of coarse gravel to get at it, though.

I've never seen it. They'd find something more accessible.

Mary