I stopped by the library today to return a few items - and wouldn't you know it - there were lots of cool things buzzing around the flowers bordering the sidewalk. So I had to go back to get my camera.

There were two species of bees, one was a bumble bee (genus Bombus) but the other I can only ID to family (Apidae).

I couldn't do much with the two flies, either. I'm hoping someone will help me ID them.

8 July 16 update:
The unknown bee on the pink flowers is a European Wool Carder Bee. (Anthidium manicatum), a mason bee (family Megachilidae) that was accidentally introduced to the United States in 1963. Since then it has spread from the east coast to California, where it was first observed in 2007. It is called a "wool carder" since the females shear off the hairs of woolly plants and then carry the "wool" back to their nest. The males are super aggressive, driving off any intruders to their flower patch. (Thanks villu.)

The unknown bumble bee has been identified as Bombus appositus, the white-shouldered bumble bee. It is native to western North America. (Thanks mdwarriner.)

Posted on July 8, 2016 04:27 AM by swells