The mound of catmint, Nepeta “Walker’s Low“, has bloomed all May and June, attracting an amazing array of bees.
Almost every day, there’s a Wool carder patrolling the flowers, head-butting the other bees. Except when he finds another Wool Carder and grabs her. There are honeybees and bumblebees, Carpenter bees large and small. Leaf Cutter bees are so small, they crawl deep into the little flowers. I’ve seen my old friend Agapostemon, and some kind of black and white bee that I’ve never seen before.
Catmint also seems to be a happy place for syrphid flies to mate. Even a Sphinx moth, also known as the Hummingbird moth, has visited.
I love this plant!
A Native Bee Rancher 