Wannabee killer bee

Another one from the bee reserve/front garden. Male Wool-carder Bee Anthidium manicatum on Lamb's Ears Stachys byzantina, this individual was feeding at the flowers (rather than collecting fibres [do males collect fibres for nesting?]).

Fiesty little bugger, check out those mandibles (and there's five abdominal spines at the other end), attacked any bumblebee that attempted to feed on one of his favoured flowers. By the end of it he looked knackered, either exhausted from all the buster-boofing or one of the bigger boys had given him a slap.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Silver Y and Slow-worm also put in appearances.