Recently the winged sumacs (Rhus copallina) in the area have been putting out their flowers left and right. The ones I have growing out in front of my fence have bloomed and are now completely by gone. But when they were in their prime (which was only a week or so ago), there seemed to be almost as many pollinators on them as there were flowers. There were quite a few different species, that all seemed to be getting along well enough. The ones that were there in the biggest numbers were the honeybees (Apis mellifera). I’m not sure if they were really “wild” honeybees or if they came from one of my neighbors houses. I know of at least two people in the neighborhood who have small apiaries. It doesn’t really matter, because in this country all of our “wild” honeybees are descendants of bees that have left an apiary somewhere, and taken up residence in the wild. We do have native bees that produce honey, but they are not what we typically call honeybees. I really enjoy honeybees, because for the most part they are pretty docile and don’t sting unless really bothered. I make it a point to try not to pester my subjects, and especially those that bite or sting, but it always makes me feel a little safer when I’m dealing with a docile species.