First sighting this year of a Black-tailed Bumble Bee

I always look forward to the arrival in the beginning of the year, of the first native bees in the garden.

There are several Yellow-faced Bumble Bees Bombus vosnesenskii that have been visiting for several weeks.

Sighting Black-tailed Bumble Bees Bombus melanopygus is a treat because they emerge from their nests early in the year, and tend to visit just through the summer. The queens typically forage on Ceanothus.

Our Ray Hartman ceanothus shrub is blooming just a few feet away from our neighbor's tea tree, which makes it very convenient to fly back and forth between the shrub and tree to forage for nectar.