Megachile is the scientific name for this species of bee, commonly found in Ireland.

This is a leafcutter bee, a solitary species that makes its nests in small sticks and holes in walls, sealed up with a portion of leaf that it has cut with its powerful jaws.

Above, collecting pollen from Erigeron flowers, below here it is seen resting on a calendula leaf amongst cultivated tomatoes with a cut leaf in its possession. I watched them flying in hot conditions with their cut leaves, a heavy ballast. They land on another plant and wait for about a minute, resting, before flying off again to seal up a hole not too far away.

Bees are important pollinators of plants and trees and it is always amazing to watch these industrious insects as they fly through the garden on their busy mission. I saw my first bee of 2018 back in January - alas Google Plus no longer exists.

Read more about Irish bees here: http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/projects/irish-pollinator-initiative/bees/solitary-bees/

The spring is colourful in Ireland, summer is also colourful as seen here with the pinks of rhododendron lining a path through the mountains.

A recent visit into the Irish mountains took me through large rhododendron groves, often over 12 feet in height and covering acres of upland.

The pinks of spring cherry blossom are gone, see here for more of those.

The pink flowers are very attractive and of course a source of food for bees but these invasive, non-native shrubs are taking over much of the Irish countryside unchecked.

In places it is difficult to find a way through these large thickets or groves, the impossibility of viewing anything in the distance means wayfinding is impossible.

Despite this the pink colour is nonetheless impressive alongside the green leaves and blue sky.

Join me on a photography tour of Ireland's mountains in summer or Dublin's parks in spring.

Spring, and May in particular, is the month of hawthorn Crataegus.

In Ireland hawthorn trees are associated with faeries and superstition exists even to this day. It is considered bad luck to cut down or remove a hawthorn tree so they are often seen growing in the countryside in the middle of fields surrounded by green pasture.

Here in May and into June the tiny white blossom flowers of hawthorn brighten hedgerows throughout Ireland, covering rural laneways and fields with delicate petals.

Here is a short video of hawthorn before it gains its leaves and blossom in spring - http://panoramicireland.com/photo-tours-blog/calm-solitude-from-irelands-west-sunset-at-the-lake

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph the ephemeral beauty of the Irish landscape.

It's been a busy few weeks here for me in Ireland, and with Earth Day I wanted to post an image that shows some of the beauty of the world around us.

Bumblebee Bombus enjoying fresh rosemary flowers Rosmarinus officianalis on a warm spring day in Ireland.

I wrote in my last post yesterday that the long cold winter days are behind us as warm temperatures have finally arrived in mid-April 2018.

The bees, of many types, visited flowers throughout the long, sunny day and I captured some on camera as they went about their busy buzzing.

Seen throughout the year, the Irish hare is most visible in the spring months when it leaps and bounds, twists and turns, flashing across the green fields of the Irish countryside as seen in this image.

The Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus is a distinct subspecies of the mountain hares found all over the top of the northern hemisphere. All Lepus timidus bar hibernicus change their coats of fur to white in winter to match with typical winter conditions of snow at such northern latitudes. But due to Ireland's mild climate and lack of white covering the landscape, the local hares keep a brown coat all winter long - an evolutionary change.

It has been a strange old winter and early spring here in Ireland. We have had a few storms and lots of snow, now it's time for some green as we enter the Irish spring.

Here an image of shamrocks, one of the famous symbols of Ireland in an Irish spring, with fresh raindrops after a light shower with sunshine and shadow.

Shamrocks are said to have been used by Ireland's patron saint, Saint Patrick who used the triple leaf to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish during the fifth century AD.

Each leaf is one but made up of three separate leaves, there are many species of small plant that grow in Ireland that could possibly be the shamrock that is referred to in the Saint Patrick story.

A long day of travel, part way through so here's one of lovely fresh green and raindrops in the sunshine. Suitable for Saint Patrick's Day of course. . . . . . . . . . . . #irish #AdventureVisuals #natgeotravel #travelblog #travelgram #lifeofadventure #canon #vsco #vscocam #natgeo #bbctravel #instatravel #vscotravel #journey #green #nytimestravelshow #saintpatricksday #travelingourplanet #stpatricksday #wheneveryonewantstobeirish #filterra #landscapephotography #nature #natgeolandscape

A post shared by @ panoramicireland on Mar 17, 2018 at 1:47pm PDT

Find out more about my photography tours in the Irish countryside, including photographing plants and natural scenes.

The snowdrop is one of the most precious of any flower to grow in Ireland. It is one of the first signs of new life awakening before the winter has even finished.

With its delicate white flowers hanging on the end of pure green stems, often growing in clumps both in the wild and in gardens throughout the country, the snowdrop signals the start of longer days and the beginning of a new year, a new cycle of life.

Winter can often be described as a season without colour and lacking in sunshine, but it isn't usually the case at all in Ireland.

Recent weeks have seen plenty of sunshine and snow in the mountains, see some of my last posts for these here.

I'm currently working on my favourite images from the year 2017. This year has seen a lot of variety in my photographic subjects, from images of fine dining to music festivals, landscapes and animals. A little of everything that makes Ireland what it is.

This image is from January, the opposite end of the year from now - December, yet it looks like it could be from high summer.

These interesting ferns, seen here growing from a wall, are very common in Ireland and often grow in limestone rich rocks. Underneath, a carpet of mosses add a real soft feel to the hard man-made wall that divides private from public property; nature as we know respects little that humans put in its way.