On Thursday I was at the library and visited the Community Rose Garden. While there I am always on the lookout for bees. Sometimes I can capture some good pictures, but I am still seeking a good picture of what I call the Golden Snitch.

I usually hear the bees before I see them, even though they are a large bee and usually pretty easy to spot.

This is a male Valley Carpenter Bee  (Xylocopa varipuncta) and you can tell why I like to call it the Golden Snitch.

The female Valley Carpenter Bee is just as big, but is black. They seem to move a bit slower and land more often. I have some good pictures of them.

When I see one of the males I will usually take a lot of pictures trying to catch one that is in focus.

They are really cool when I see them flying around. They zip around a lot and it is hard to get a good picture. Yesterday there were two of them flying around, but I still was not able to get a good picture. I think next time I will try an action setting to see if it will help.

This one was taken some time ago and is one of the best I have taken. However, I want to someday get one from a different angle. This one is a bit blurry, but shows some pretty good detail of the wings and antenna.

It is always cool to watch a Golden Snitch zip around the garden.

Steven

WWRI — Written With Real Intelligence