There are about 4,000 species of native bees in the US. When you mention bees to most folks, they picture honey bees or black and yellow bumblebees. In late summer and fall, yellowjackets are top of mind for anyone trying to eat outside. Imagine, there are 3,997 other kinds of bees of every shape and size in this country!
I want to get close up and familiar with the native bees around Seattle. That is one benefit to planting native, for sure. But bees can often make a living on non-native ornamentals, or at least they hang out around them. I took some photos today of just a few of the bees and flies in my ornamental memory garden. There are some amazing creatures around!
Along with the beautiful bees, butterflies have begun to appear around the garden. Aside from cabbage whites, butterflies are uncommon around the neighborhood. As I’ve posted before, skipper butterflies are one of the target species for my native plant activities. Other butterflies are exciting and welcome, too!
I saw the below Lorquin’s admiral in our garden yesterday. It had some bird damage to its wing, but it was beautiful nonetheless, and was aggressively defending its territory.
The most amazing butterfly appeared on my dog walk today at Ingraham High School, just a block from our house. In 30 years in this neighborhood, I have never seen a blue butterfly! And here was an echo azure.
I am going to research larval food for this species and target them, now, too!
We focus so much on flowers when we think of plants, but seed structures can be incredible, too.
