Nature never disappoints . . .

I found this little guy lying on one of my windowsills. He must have been frantically trying to get outside but died.

I try to rescue the ones I find in my home but this one I missed.

Intrigued, as the body seemed intact, I decided to collect and photograph him using my macro lens.

I believe this insect to be in the Megachilid genera, which are solitary bees. They are also known as Mason Bees and Leafcutter Bees. I am not an entomologist, so my ID may be incorrect, but I am almost certain it is not a fly. Some flies do make excellent bee mimics.

After downloading the images to my computer, I took a good look at the body structure and details as revealed by the lens. As I slowly went over the head, wings, thorax and abdomen, something small and blue caught my eye. Something I was not expecting to see.

In the above image, do you see the tiny blue appendages sticking out of either side of the upper part of the bee's abdomen?

Here's a close look,

I was amazed and struck by the blue color! I would never have thought that this insect, found on my windowsill, would yield such an amazing discovery.

I have no idea what they are or what their function is despite doing research. If you know, please post.

When your eyes are opened to truly see the magnificence around us and surprising discoveries, even in the tiniest of creatures, it gives a deep appreciation of our fantastic world and forces you to look outside yourself to the next discovery.

And, as John Muir observed,  "Nature never disappoints." And it certainly didn't in the case of this little bee.