Nature shows always get you to root for the protagonist, whoever that may be. If the star of the show’s a fox, you’ll find yourself cheering her on to catch the rabbit (although you may have cheered for the rabbit in a previous episode). If the subject’s a skunk, you’ll wish him well as you watch him go about his day. And if the hero’s a European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum), you’ll cheer for him, too—even though he’s kind of a heel.

I say he, because it’s the males who give this species its thuggish reputation. The peaceable females are known for their habit of scraping the fuzz from woolly-leaved plants to line their nests with (hence the name “wool carder bee”), while the males are known for their aggression. They will body slam and drive off any other wool carder males, honey bees, bumble bees, or various interlopers that dare to enter their no-fly zones.

I’ve been watching the European wool carder bees for a couple of weeks on the nature show playing in my Portland, Oregon backyard, and the little bullies have made for some entertaining programming.