BALD-FACED

I've had a banner year of pollinators. The mason bee nest is full and I'm seeing such a variety of wasps, bees and flies that I've stopped worrying about stings when I'm working in the garden.

Of bees, only honeybees and bumblebees sting. Many have said it's hard to keep bees on Harstine Island, and bumbles are very reticent about stinging. Early this summer, a friend disturbed a ground nest of bumblebees while using a machine to dig up bamboo, and for all that, one of his three-man crew was stung once.

Paper wasps also feed on nectar and sting, but that's stretching it. If I let pollinator ac...