I have a new favorite bee...
Anthidium.
AKA, "wool carder bees":
Wool carder bees are about the size of a honeybee, but have wasp-like yellow and black markings. The difference: BEES are stout and round-shaped, whereas wasps have a skinny "waist" and look like cold-blooded killers.
Adorable Anthidium bees scrape the wooly plant fibers off leaves, called "carding." Females use the soft fibers to provision a wooly nest.
And the males? Too fast to photograph!
Go see them!!
WHAT? Male Anthidium on patrol. A must see.
WHERE? A sizeable patch (>1m square) of lamb's ear (aka rose campion) in FULL SUN
WHEN? NOW!
All photos are Anthidium females. Pollen grains are visible, carried on the underside of the abdomen.
Do you think she's waving at me? I like to think so.