The picture below is the crape myrtle tree in my front yard. It was one of the left over yard improvements from the previous owners that until this year really didn’t seem to flourish at all.
One morning last weekend I went outside to water the plants in the new flowerbeds about 9 am. It was later than when I water during the week, but one of my plants has been contemplating giving up on life, so I’ve been adamant about watering. So I’m out there and I notice a lot of activity around the crape myrtle tree. It’s an audible buzzing sound and I notice the tree’s flowers are covered in bees. Both bumblebees and regular bees just going about their business gathering nectar. I maintained my cool and kept watering my plants, but kept an eye on the bees. I’m not allergic to bees, but I figured being stung by over 100 bees would probably not be good. I thought about how I’d have to drive myself to the hospital and how long I’d have, etc. I remembered though the golden rules of wild animals “if you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you” and “they are more afraid of you than you are of them.” I kept watering and was only a few feet from all the nectar drinking with my bright yellow hose, but nobody bothered anyone. I tried to take pictures but bees apparently are tough to capture on film. I did catch one of my new yard friends though for a closeup.
The bee activity has been going on for a week now. I get up to water the plants at 6 am, and there are no bees, but maybe one or two early risers. The majority of them get there about 8 or 9. The first time I noticed a bee in my yard was when a big bumblebee appeared to check out my oleander plant. I had no idea the crape myrtle tree would be such a hotspot.
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