If you were wondering about the bees on the foxglove I posted on June 21, 2006, so was I. I submitted the photo for identification to BugGuide at http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage. They identified the bees as Species Anthidium manicatum – Wool Carder Bee (see http://bugguide.net/node/view/59217/bgimage and http://bugguide.net/node/view/7744). It is a fairly uncommon bee that its quite particular about the type of flowers it visits: it loves small-flowered foxglove. It is also very aggressive. It is a non-native European import that is speading through the northeast US. Now we know!

garden bees
Hymenoptera