Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Bee on Sourwood flowers, 2 by Pistil

Pistil wrote:
I wandered into my yard this morning, noticed a very small bee (wasp?) visiting the flowers on my sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) tree. It looked too big to get inside the little bell (sourwood is related to heather and has similar flowers), so I kept watching to see what it was up to. Once I looked very closely, I could see it land on each flower and make a little hole, then stick it's ?proboscis? in for several seconds. It appeared to be eating . Then it would go to the next. I took these photos with my iPhone, I can't believe how good they turned out, once I magnified them. I thought it was probably cheating, and getting nectar without pollinating the flower. Clever little bee to get breakfast this way.