First sleeping bee of 2026 💚

[kellyromanych@mastodon.social]

First sleeping bee of 2026

Light drizzle kept this male Melissodes nestled on the Encelia. Meanwhile, a female Melissodes was bouncing from flower to flower gathering pollen. The temps and cloud cover have been erratic. Relieved to see both are here again. Keep planting & protecting ribbon refuges

#bees #SleepingBees #NativePlants #RibbonRefuge

[dillyd@turtleisland.social]

@kellyromanych
The eye is very interesting in that first photo. Is that pattern inherent to the eye, or is it reflecting something in the environment?

[kellyromanych@mastodon.social]

@dillyd I wonder about that too. I'm not sure from what I've learned over the years. Every pic I take has some version of that patterning. It would not surprise me if it was a combo of both