Bee on Globe Thistle

I always think these Globe Thistles are fun to photograph - amazing that the detail is as sharp as it is, as it always seems to be very windy when I call in at the Reader Rock Garden. I suspect there has been a huge amount of hail and rain damage to the plants recently, unfortunately. Taken on 8 August 2012.

"Echinops is a genus of about 120 species of thistles in the daisy family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They are native to Europe east to central Asia and south to the mountains of tropical Africa." From Wikipedia.

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