This is the season for the wisteria to bloom – a fairly common plant in the older gardens of our town as well as in farm gardens.
Apart from the collective beauty of the flowers, they provide a bounty for bees. Only the bees focused on today are not your ordinary honey bee but the large bomber-type bee that audibly buzz whilst whizzing past your head: the carpenter bees (Xylocopa species) that are commonly active from now until nearly the end of February.
While carpenter bees do not produce honey, they play an important role as pollinators of crops and wild plants.
I felt bombarded by up to a dozen of them flying about the wisteria blossoms. All bore yellow and black stripes, which signal that they are female carpenter bees and are probably Xylocopa caffra, commonly known as the Doublebanded Carpenter Bee. The males are completely covered in yellow hairs – if they were about then they were well camouflaged.
Something Over Tea 
Learned something! Had never heard of carpenter bees. Googled them. Nasty looking things I must say. Not fluffy and cute like, say, bumble bees! But everything has its purpose.
LikeLike
These carpenter bees play a very important role in pollination – although the downside is that they also (as their name suggests) bore holes in wooden structures. We don’t get bumble bees in this country.Although these females have a stinger they are generally not aggressive unless directly handled. Certainly none of them bothered me while I was photographing them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I got a little buzz from this post, thinking of the wisteria clusters and their beauty in the landscape. Wonderful photos.
LikeLike
Thank you very much, Henry.
LikeLike
Just lovely
LikeLike
I am so pleased these pictures resonate with you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gorgeous photos! Don’t you just love listening to the hum of bees? The sound of contentment. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you, Eliza. You are right about the sound of contentment … there were so many of these carpenter bees visiting the wisteria that their buzzing was quite loud – a lovely sound on a warm, fragrant day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loveliness Anne!
LikeLike
The experience certainly had that quality about it, Cindy.
LikeLike
Let’s hear it for the pollinators! So glad the carpenter bees aren’t aggressive. Easier to admire them when you don’t have to worry about being stung. 😉
LikeLike
That’s very true!
LikeLike
Wisteria are such delicate looking flowers. Bees and flowers, a perfect combination!
LikeLike
Thank you very much, Belinda.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I mentioned before I removed the wisteria from the house because it became destructive, but my neighbour has one up against the diving wall and it has grown the past season and is hanging over to our side.
I expect her gardener will give it a trim in the coming weeks.
I too noticed more than the usual number of Carpenter bees around a couple of our fruit tress the other day. Normally I see them in ones or twos but the other day there were loads!
And like your encounter, all female.
Something in the air, maybe?
LikeLike
typo. ‘dividing wall’
LikeLike
It is spring in the air – drought notwithstanding!
LikeLike
Lovely photographs and interesting information about the bees
LikeLike
The blooms made my day and I have not seen so many of these bees in one place before.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love wisteria. We have a native wisteria here. The blooms not quite as large as the Chinese Wisteria. Beautiful none the less.
LikeLike
I enjoy the scent of the wisteria flowers.
LikeLike
Beautifully done, Anne!
LikeLike
I appreciate your comment, Dries.
LikeLike