What type of bee is this?

Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a)

At first I thought it was a standard honey bee or maybe a blue striped bee, but they hold their wings differently than the photos I've seen of them. They are flocking to my sunflowers right now. The stripes are more of a blue color than a black or brown color. They are active early in the morning. They sometimes look like they drink water off of the plants if I water in the morning (we live in the desert - lots of things will drink water if they find it that may not in other places, I think). There are lots of them and they do not seem to mind being around others of their kind.

Thanks in advance! Karla

Thumbnail by kmom246
(Zone 7a)

It looks fairly fuzzy. Is it?

http://bugguide.net/node/view/191083

Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a)

Thanks, Kwanjin - The head and shoulders are fuzzy, but the area with the stripes is only a little fuzzy. Also, all of these bees hold their wings folded over their backs and not "out" like in the photo you linked to. Also, the antenna seem to be shorter. Their legs are all full of pollen, so it's hard for me to see what they look like. I will see if I can get a better closeup this weekend.

(Zone 7a)

Here's another view...

http://bugguide.net/node/view/7679

Does this help?

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