Story and pictures by Avalus
I noticed earth-bees emerging and vanishing between two stone plates in the paveway in the garden, so I crouched down and waited for the next bee to come out. But the inhabitants were not that sure about the sudden appearance of a strange black block in front of their door and so cautiously just poked their heads out only to retreat again. (first picture and the detail cut out, with a head of a bee eying me suspiciously visible) Then after five minutes or so one of them had enough of the paparazzi, moved out and took off just as I moved in a more comfortable position and so I nearly missed her. As you can see, I just captured her butt :D.
photo 1 ©Avalus, all rights reserved
Photo 1 (detail) ©Avalus, all rights reserved
Photo 2 ©Avalus, all rights reserved
Photo 3 ©Avalus, all rights reserved.
Ahhhh, Waschbetonplatten. Does any other nation have them? The concrete plates with pebbles on top?
I’m amazed that they’re burrowing at this time of year. I always get them in early spring. Then the left hand side of the slope is swarming with them
Yes, they exist here and the Finnish name looks like a calque from the German name, pesubetonilaatta, pesubetonilaatat (singular, plural; pesu = Wasch/wash, betoni = Beton/concrete, laatta = Platte/tile or plate).
It seems that there can be quite a microcosm there on the tiles.