If you read yesterday's post about my foray into the world of gardening, whilst it was indeed a short-lived experience, I came across something that looked like a bee or a wasp. It was more bee-like than anything and I have found exactly what it is.
Above image courtesy of Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Service
It's called a Mustached Mud Bee and that is exactly what they looked like. I think I must have hit the entire nest and broke apart parts of the dwelling, what ended up looking like tiny upside down bowl-shaped blobs of mud with the bees huddled inside.
I found a very interesting article about the bee, so much so that I'm going to write to Dr. Batra, featured in the piece and ask her about these bees, if they are protected, etc. They are fascinating and seem very docile. And whilst, according to the article, they are less likely to sting than the honey bee is, I'm still keeping my distance. I'm allergic to bees!
I do feel a little bad that I probably broke apart an entire bee abode, but I had no clue they were there. And it also sheds some light on what type of soil we have...clay. I'm not even sure if tulips or any sort of bulb can thrive in that kind of soil. *sigh* Maybe I'll just end up cultivating mustached mud bees....from a distance.
So folks, there you have it, that's the story about the mud bee-like things.
