Bee on Purple Coneflower, Kirtland, Ohio

The eastern purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), commonly called simply "purple coneflower", is a member of the sunflower family that is quite attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. The genus name Echinacea is from the Greek echino, meaning "spiny", due to the spiny central disk. These flowers are native to eastern North America and are present in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and Midwestern United States. Flowers typically grow to about three feet high. The blossoms are large and daisy-like with drooping, rose-purple petals surrounding an iridescent red-orange coned center. In Ohio, purple coneflowers bloom between late June and late July, with some blooms occurring into autumn. The dead flower stems are quite sturdy, and remain erect well into winter. Goldfinches often perch on the dried and blackened cones to feed on the seeds they contain.
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The bee's wings are incredibly transparent. Their fine structure is plainly visible in high resolution prints but is not displayed well in these low resolution web images. A bit more detail is visible in the larger version on our website.