Day #403 What Kind of Bug?

Does anyone know what kind of bug this is?

These guys really enjoyed camping out on my Aesclepias (Butterfly Weed) all summer. Once the flowers went to seed, they decided my mailbox was the perfect meeting place. Nobody else on my street has them. Of course, nobody else on my street has as many flowers as I do, particularly not the Aesclepias.

I was outside a couple of days ago before the rain started, and was lectured by my mail carrier about those “creepy bugs.”

They’re kinda cute. They don’t bite. They don’t seem to eat anything that I don’t want eaten. And they keep each other company. What’s creepy about that?

I just wish I could identify them. Can you help?

BEEattitude for Day # 403:
       Blessed are those who laugh hard every day, for their hearts shall beat joyously.

BY THE WAY -- If you're in the area, come to the 1st United Methodist Church in Buford GA at 7:00 tonight for a glorious concert by the Gwinnett Choral Guild.

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The teeny details:

BOOK SIGNINGS

     Nov. 26      Wellspring Treasures, Kennesaw GA     1-3 p.m.

     Dec.   3       Books for Less, Buford GA      1-3 p.m.

     Dec. 10       Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA      2-4 p.m.  OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH for VIOLET AS AN AMETHYST

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart
my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Fran+Stewart

Day #231 Yard Bees!

Okay, folks, I’m really excited about this—

I went out to check the mail and found honey bees and bumble bees on the bright orange Aesclepias flowers (better known as Butterfly Weed). Here are some of the pics I snapped with my old Nokia phone.

This first picture shows a big old Bumble Bee near some little bitty Honey Bees, so you can see the relative sizes.

I'm amazed at how hard they all work to collect nectar. I watched them for quite a while, going from one teeny floret to another, covering them all. And I imagine tomorrow they'll be back again to pull out the newly-produced nectar.

And then there was a single honey bee on the biggest thistle flower. I suppose the flower looks huge in this photo, but it's really just under 3 inches across.

I know I didn’t plant the thistle. But I left it there beside my driveway hoping the bees would benefit. In this picture, you can see her struggling to plow her way through the thick flower. I hope the nectar she collected was worth all the effort.

BEEattitude for Day # 231:

       Blessed are those who plant flowers, for their lives shall be bright.

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The teeny details:

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com

my eBooks on Amazon for Kindle

my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats)