[Redrooster19]

Has any one seen a honey bee with a red head? I just saw a few on wild flowers close to one of my hives. They look like a normal golden color honey bee but have a red head and a small red stripe on their legs.

 

[FairWeather]

Comes up every year. Is dead nettle (henbit) blooming around you? Pollen covered bee.

 

[Redrooster19]

I don't think it's pollen on the bee. I have several bees on this henbit and I have only seen a few this morning. If it were pollen I would think there would be more bees covered with it. I have a couple pictures of them but I don't know how to post them. You may be right but it is strange that only a few have the red on them and after watching them for about 2 weeks, I only saw the few this morning. I don't see any out there now and there are hundreds of bees on the plants.

 

[JWPalmer]

It is pollen. There are several different flowers that stripe the bees head and thorax as they forage. Red is a common color to see in the Spring.

 

[Redrooster19]

O.K., I just can't figure out why so few have it, nothing in my yard that I know of has this color pollen. I haven't seen any of my bees with the red on them. I will check again tomorrow and see if any are going into my hives. Thankyou for Your and Kansas' replies.