Pale abs ... stranger

Today, a bee with a much lighter abdomen turned up at the insect house. It seemed to be of the same species - the patchwork leaf cutter bee - but underneath instead of the rich golden abdomen of the other large bees, this one was a creamy lemon. As it came in to land on the edge of the canes, its body seemed to throb and undulate. It then took off and landed on the ground where it carried on the motion. Finally it landed back onto an empty hollow bamboo cane and went inside. post extra: day 29 after St Swithin's - slightly cooler than yesterday but still sunny and a little more breezy than Sunday. note: the bees have begun to carve small pieces out of the cherry tree leaves, to add to the numerous other plant species that they are using to place into the bamboo cane hollows.