I couldn't tell what this was yesterday on our waxball bush -- was it, I wondered, a wasp, a bee, or a hoverfly?

I posted it to the local Insects web page and found out it's a honeybee. Duhh.

My excuse is that I never saw a honeybee until I was like fifty years old and I still almost never recognise them. Like this time.

And, yes, "waxballs" are what you may call snowberry. Or Symphoricarpos alba. The wasps, bees, and hoverflies love their flowers.