Honey Bees, Buzzing and Flowers.
The honey bees have returned to the garden with the arrival of a few sunny and bright Spring days.
The garden is turning over a range of (mainly) yellow and white flowers and blossoms which, over the next few weeks, will be joined by apple pink blossoms and sedum flowers.
There is never a shortage of bees in the garden; they seem to be attracted by the sedum and catkins mostly; the sedum stays in bloom for quite a long time and, although perhaps not the most fashionable plant generally, it has become a firm favourite in this garden on account of its obvious attraction to wildlife - butterflies, bees, other insects, snails and spiders! Small wrens and bluetits often duck into the safety of this hardy plant.
The Kent cobnut and pussy willow catkins are equally attractive to the wild garden bees and, overall, the garden is starting to get that familiar buzzing sound again.
This coloured pencil drawing of primula vulgaris (wild primrose) was completed last year and the honey bee was added only a few days ago.
The Spring sun was bright and a feeling of warmth hung in the air. Although several bumblebees have been active in the garden from the earliest days of sunshine this year, the honey bees seemed a little less reluctant to face the new season.
So it was a pleasant surprise to find a couple of honey bees buzzing around a small puddle that hadn't completely dried up - they must have been thirsty.
They circled the puddle and stopped to take a drink before flying off, no doubt, in search of some energy-rich nectar and to begin their pollination activities.
But they stayed long enough for a quick sketch and some photos as reference.
Observing the bees close-up, using photographs as references, can help reveal how bee anatomy and movement is quite complex; their wings and legs are constantly moving and seem to move in all directions at once, which can present a challenge when trying to draw a bee in motion!
There are so many bees that visit the garden!
This year will hopefully see the completion of a bee identification chart that was planned two years ago and now, perhaps, also a simple study of how noisy bees are at different times of the day or season!
Wildlife blog in Kent.
The honey bees have returned to the garden with the arrival of a few sunny and bright Spring days.
The garden is turning over a range of (mainly) yellow and white flowers and blossoms which, over the next few weeks, will be joined by apple pink blossoms and sedum flowers.
There is never a shortage of bees in the garden; they seem to be attracted by the sedum and catkins mostly; the sedum stays in bloom for quite a long time and, although perhaps not the most fashionable plant generally, it has become a firm favourite in this garden on account of its obvious attraction to wildlife - butterflies, bees, other insects, snails and spiders! Small wrens and bluetits often duck into the safety of this hardy plant.
The Kent cobnut and pussy willow catkins are equally attractive to the wild garden bees and, overall, the garden is starting to get that familiar buzzing sound again.
 |
| Honey Bee and Primroses, Coloured Pencils. |
The Spring sun was bright and a feeling of warmth hung in the air. Although several bumblebees have been active in the garden from the earliest days of sunshine this year, the honey bees seemed a little less reluctant to face the new season.
So it was a pleasant surprise to find a couple of honey bees buzzing around a small puddle that hadn't completely dried up - they must have been thirsty.
They circled the puddle and stopped to take a drink before flying off, no doubt, in search of some energy-rich nectar and to begin their pollination activities.
But they stayed long enough for a quick sketch and some photos as reference.
Observing the bees close-up, using photographs as references, can help reveal how bee anatomy and movement is quite complex; their wings and legs are constantly moving and seem to move in all directions at once, which can present a challenge when trying to draw a bee in motion!
There are so many bees that visit the garden!
This year will hopefully see the completion of a bee identification chart that was planned two years ago and now, perhaps, also a simple study of how noisy bees are at different times of the day or season!
Wildlife blog in Kent.