Yellow Faced Bumble Bee in the Poppy Patch

The California poppies are blooming in full force now and the bees are having a great time in the poppy patches.

In the image above see how the yellow-faced bumble bee is flying just above the orange California poppies.

I observe these bumble bees when it is sunny, as they fly from poppy to poppy, rolling in the pollen.

These California poppies are growing from the same plants that sprouted from seeds I strew on the ground last year.

I have now learned that the poppy plants are not necessarily annuals.

As long as you cut off the dried up foliage, they will survive.

In the late fall and through the winter the plants remain green.

After the winter rains, this is what you get, and more.

The poppies are spreading throughout the area, attracting more bees and birds.

Another yellow-faced bumble bee here, about to land in a poppy blossom.

You can see its bright orange pollen baskets.