Tiny Bee

It's smaller than a honey bee.

And faster and louder.

Anthophora urbana, a solitary, ground-nesting bee, frequents our garden to nectar the catmint, lavender and sage. 

Sometimes the forager's buzz is so loud that it's startling. "What was THAT?"

In this case, THAT is a female Anthophora urbana, as identified by UC Davis pollinator expert Robbin Thorp, emertus professor of entomology.

It belongs to the family Apidae, as do honey bees, carpenter bees, cuckoo bees and others. In sheer numbers, it's one of the largest in the Apidae family--more than 450 species worldwide in 14 different subgenera.

It may be tiny, but its buzz isn't.