5/11/2017 Valley carpenter bee and other insects

I wanted to take a few pictures to test my camera and got unexpected subjects. I've seen a few male valley carpenter bees before but they are always a treat. The males are large and golden in color. This one stuck around long enough to let me get good photos.

I took several pictures of this candle of buckeye flowers. By the time I got the best exposure, the honey bee I saw on the flowers had disappeared.
Buckeye tree_P1050542 lpg
Buckeye tree P1050542.lpg
I stopped to photograph some coyote mint flowers and noticed a large insect flying around the flowers. It was doing a lot of flying and not much stopping. I couldn't get it in focus quickly enough with manual focus so I switched to auto focus and hoped the camera would focus on the bee. It worked quite well and the bee cooperated by staying on a flower longer.
male valley carpenter bee_coyote mint_P1050606 lpg
male valley carpenter bee coyote mint P1050606.lpg insect wildflower
I just kept on taking pictures as long as the bee hung around.
male valley carpenter bee_Coyote mint_P1050558 lpg
male valley carpenter bee Coyote mint P1050558.lpg insect wildflower
It moved around from flower to flower but I was able to keep the camera on it.
male valley carpenter bee_coyote mint_P1050607 lpg
male valley carpenter bee coyote mint P1050607.lpg insect wildflower
I even got a photo or two with the bee flying and in focus.
male valley carpenter bee_coyote mint_P1050609 lpg
male valley carpenter bee coyote mint P1050609.lpg insect wildflower
When the bee departed, I moved to a cluster of wild onion flowers (allium) and took a picture. I discovered this pale crab spider later when I viewed the picture on my PC. The onion flowers are fading and the white spider fits right in.
Crab spider_Onion_P1050580 lpg
Crab spider Onion P1050580.lpg
Elegant clarkia flowers are starting to bloom. I love the bow-tie shape of the petals.
Elegant clarkia_P1050581 lpg
Elegant clarkia P1050581.lpg
Lots of green of clarkia leaves and not many flowers yet. Soon we'll have many more flowers.
Elegant clarkia_P1050583 lpg
Elegant clarkia P1050583.lpg
I spotted this leaf hopper on a California poppy flower.
leaf hopper_California poppy_P1050544 lpg
leaf hopper California poppy P1050544.lpg
The valley carpenter bee returned to the coyote mint flowers so I took more pictures. Sorting out the best pictures later was a chore but who's gonna stop when you have a subject like this in front of the camera.
male valley carpenter bee_coyote mint_P1050611 lpg
male valley carpenter bee coyote mint P1050611.lpg insect wildflower