dew-covered bee

Some days I have to really think to come up with a title for a post -- something catchy, creative, but still relating to the subject of the text. Today is not one of those days.

Today there are no surprises, no wondering what the heck this post will be about. This post will in fact be about a bee. A wet bee.

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We've finally had enough rain to get moisture back into the system, and the cooler mornings of September are leading to some morning dew. Okay, lots of dew.

Yesterday morning when I took these photos it was quite wet.

The hyacinth bean growing on the deck railing was heavy with moisture, as was this carpenter bee.

I've noticed that the large bees (carpenters and bumbles both?) sometimes just spend the night where it had been foraging. I like to think they hear an internal quitting time whistle and immediately shut down for the night.

I wonder what it feels like to wake up with your eyeballs covered in huge (relatively speaking) drops of water?

Although it was perfectly still the entire time I was taking these photos, as soon as the sunlight hit this part of the plant the bee warmed up and started moving around a bit. I wasn't able to watch to see if she actually worked to remove the moisture from her wings and body, or if she just let it evaporate. I assume some shaking was involved.

In any case, what an opportunity! I love taking  photos of water droplets, and I love taking photos of bees, so combining both? What a start to the day!


This was certainly the dewiest bee I've ever seen.

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