This is a Blue banded Bee. It sometimes rests on small twigs like this. It does not sit using the legs, but with the front portion touching the twig, as if balancing. I have been wondering why it does it. There are other types of bees, the black ones.. they also do the same. They sit for a few seconds and then they are buzzing again.
after reading a bit online, it appears its just the way this species rests. it's pretty bizarre, and interesting that they use their mandibles to grip whatever they are resting on, but i guess it gives them a better hold.
Agreed on the bizarre...It seems that they do not form hives as they are not "social" bees like the honeybees. The concensus seems to be that since they sleep in the open, exposed to wind and rain, they use their mandibles to grasp on with as they are "stronger than the legs and better controlled" from what I gather the jaws clamp onto the twig where the legs can not.
This is a nice link with some great pics.
http://bluebandedbees.com/index.htm
Oh, that's an interesting piece of information. That reminded me of a picture I had taken in 2007 in my garden. Afterwards, I did not get to see such a resting. It was taken in the evening when the sun was going down. It was under a shrub - Thevetia peruviana.
Here is another.
This is another variety of bee. We can see the grip clearly here.
That first is an AWESOME picture Dinu!
String Bees! Sorry, I had to...
GROAN...grin
Gorgeous pics Dinu. Thanks for sharing.
These bees certainly do not sting. But they sometimes buzz around menacingly around us when we approach a flower that it is trying to feed upon.
