On Apr 21, 2:51*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 4/21/12 9:00 AM, Way Back Jack wrote:

A regular bee. *Yep, it was an Eyetalian goombah honeybee singing O Sole
Mio while scarfing down nectar from a Russian olive tree. *This was the 1st
regular bee I've seen in years.

Ironically, there were no bumbles. *Normally, Russian olives are loaded
with bumbles. *Come to think of it, haven't seen many bumbles at all this
yr. *Maybe they're succumbing to the die back that has wasted the regular
bees.

Geez, I can remember when regular bees were ubiquitous, but that's another
story.

I see honey bees, bumble bees, and wood bees all the time. *(The latter
are the size of bumble bees but all black. *They are solitary bees -- no
hive -- that tunnel into dead branch stubs on trees and into the ends of
house beams to lay eggs in packets of pollen and nectar.)

--
David E. Ross
Climate: *California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

The only "honey" bees I hear about today are the Africanized version.
You also use the term "wood" bees. I assume that you're referring to
carpenter bees which drill holes into my outdoor wood beams to set up
their nests, consisting of mama, papa, and offspring. A little shot
of Drione dust into the hole they drill takes care of them.