Same two. Same flower. Keep dry flowers and stems whenever you can. Focus isn't great. A bit windy & I didn't want to disturb.
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 💚
We saw several sleeping bumblebees (𝘉𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴) on today's hike, and here are two of them:
Sharing sleeping space on Encelia californica
Three new Melissodes arrived and are sleeping one stem over from the Anthophora. Sunset light gives photos a painted feel
There may be only one wild bee of the batch left. Even nature can be upside down at times, especially in the city. This is a great example of leaving dry bits alone. Many small creatures mimic the colors to take refuge and find nesting sites
Melissodes on Encelia
Spent last 10 minutes or so at sunset watching over three sleeping bees. A wasp was a few stems over. Gently blew it way twice. I couldn't face seeing circle of life in front of me tonight. Bad breath after long hot day came in handy.
KellyAnn Romanych (she/her)
Willa 
