I do not want any bees to die off & I love honey. That being said there is a stand in pollinator: The blue orchard bees also do not produce honey, rarely sting and, owing to their solitary nature, do not swarm. They are incredibly efficient pollinators of many tree fruit crops—on a typical acre, 2,000 blue orchard bees can do the work of more than 100,000 honeybees. Their biggest drawback is that beekeepers can only increase their populations by a factor of three to eight each year. (Honey bees can grow from a small colony consisting of a queen and a few dozen workers to a population of 20,000 foragers in a few months.) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/other-bee-species-subbing-for-honeybees/

I can't help you with the bees, but I can help you post a pic!!! Go to photobucket.com and register. You have to register, but it is free. Then you upload your photos. Copy the HTML code (3rd one down) and paste it in your 'message.' It'll look like code, until you click 'preview message.' Good luck with the bees and look forward to your pics :) Christy

Honey bees will cover every single flower on holly, making it seem alive with the hard working insects. You can hear them before you see them. YJs aren't so noisy. You should be able to easily tell a honey bee from a yellow jacket by the lack of very bright yellow and black on the bee body and that fact that bees are fuzzier. Both of these insects and many more are nectar and pollen feeders and will be found on holly, which is very attractive to all manner of pollinators, but only honeybees gather and collect nectar and pollen in order to bring back to their hives, for storage and the feeding of larvae. The relationship between bees and hollies is legendary. I would certainly hope that they are allowed to continue their work unmolested. No need to be afraid. Yes, they mind their own business, lol!

Wool carder bees are known to do that. (We have them here in Portland, Oregon.) No, you shouldn't be concerned.