Peacock carpenter native bee
Peacock carpenter bee - Xylocopa bombylans... This summer season is the first time we have seen this wonderful bee. We found a couple of bees while making a path through the forest (they bore their nest into soft wood) and also on the rosemary, lemon verbena, and in the vege circle near the house... I have also been drilling various size holes in to old tree stumps over the past 2 or 3 years in the hope that they would be homes for these kind of solitary bees. I have seen them stuffed with little bits of debris. Here is a video of one on the rosemary taken a couple of weeks ago: