Now I’ve seen one, I keep spotting them. Got to get a few proper close ups after rescuing one from a horrific fate. I happened to be watching the bee hotel with my camera, and this little guy was checking out the vacancies.

But, it just so happened the bottom left corner had been taken by a large spider I had already noticed and named ‘The Monster’. His web was on the front and side of the bee hotel, and just as I realised this wasn’t a good spot for web coverage, the little bee caught his wing in it!

In a flash the spider was out of the hole and making his way to the struggling bee. I swiped near the bee and the spider backed off, giving me a few more seconds to try and find something to rescue the bee with. A short bamboo pole was to hand, so that had to do.

It took a little while for the bee to recover, one leg had a sticky bit of web on it for a while, and one wing looked a bit busted up. I wondered whether I had doomed it to a slow and lingering death rather than a quick and horrific one. But I stayed with it, trying to help remove the web, giving it some flowers to help and see if it was enough. It was, and it flew away a short while after.

(c) K Wicks