Bug Squad
Article

In the Pink

Thunder boomed across the garden.

The carpenter bee (Xylocopata tabaniformis orpifex) meant business.

She headed straight for the slowly opening rock purslane  (Calandrinia grandiflora). Never mind that the petals hadn't quite unfolded.

Tackling the tiny pink blossom, she sipped her fill of nectar, and then, with another thunderous roar, vanished.

No wonder large, loud carpenter bees scare little children. 

CARPENTER BEE nectars a rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Carpenter Bee
POLLEN-COVERED carpenter bee takes ownership of a rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Pollen-Covered Carpenter Bee