A pink hibiscus and a green orchid bee, how lovely!

I was excited to get this shot yesterday as I was prowling around the edge of a restored wetland at Haney Creek East, in Stuart.

I was just about to take a picture of this hibiscus at water’s edge when the bee flew into the picture and hovered for a few moments before disappearing into the flower.

Green orchid bees, Euglossa dilemma, are native to Central America but were found a couple of counties south of us first in 2003, probably having hitched a ride from Mexico in a nest on a wooden pallet.

Green orchid bees are a quite conspicuous and charismatic species. This is mostly due to their large size and bright metallic-green coloration. They are roughly the same size to slightly smaller than a honey bee, usually about 1.3 cm in length. The wing membranes are darkened, but transparent. Green orchid bees are very fast and agile flyers, and can be seen quickly darting from flower to flower separated by long periods of hovering.

The pink and green colors of this flower and bee remind me of a popular Florida fashion brand, Lilly Pulitzer.

My new camouflage pants for Florida nature photography?