Most of the year my garden has had to rely on wasps as pollinators, with the bees conspicuously absent. But last week I noticed my garden was suddenly bee central, with swarms of them orbiting some basil plants that desperately needed topping.

I don't know why they finally descended upon my yard. Maybe they're just picky eaters and the fall asters and goldenrod are more to their liking than the spring and summer blossoms.

What's your bee population been like this year? And has it been constant throughout the year or are you also seeing a late season influx? Bee mavens: What causes bees to shift territories mid-season?

While I'm happy to see them -- something as a child I could never imagine saying about bees -- they did increase the degree of difficulty points once I finally got around to harvesting that basil. But the pesto was worth it.

Oh, and I learned it's really hard to take pictures of something has twitchy as a bee.