A new bee…every day
Shot yesterday in our across-the-street, neighbors’ yard. We don’t have any zinnias in our gardens, but I sure like their middles – and the bees seem to love them, too. Not too sure about the crop on this one – seems out of balance – but that one in the background is interesting. Have to think on that…
This one’s from the neighbors’ back yard. Have shot at it in pretty bad light for the last three days. Need to get there a little earlier to minimize shadows, but I cannot seem to manage that lately. But…it’s just a remarkable plant. Cannot think of another that I’ve seen a wider variety of pollinators on. Bumbles, wasps, flies, honeybees, natives, etc. Really neat stuff. If I can find the time, I’ll do a big bonus blast of all of the different critters I shot on it. Maybe this winter?
Anyway…love this bee. Great beeface, beeneck, and beetongue. Plus a bonus, out-of-focus wasp. Neat plant.
Looks like two in a row. Different light for sure. Great face and a good look at the mandibles there.
Should be traveling back from the Loveland, Colorado show today… So I’m posting this in advance.
Here’s a little one in-flight. Lower light so you can barely see the blur of her wings…if at all. Neat what the buds turn in to. So sorry to see them fade, but they’re at their height right now. Perfect, not-so-very-thirsty plant for pollinators. And it self-seeds. And can get a bit interesting after several generations – depending on what’s there for it to cross with. Those bees…
The light on the flower is a little rough. But the bee looks great. And I like the other flower there in the background. These are just starting to bloom here and the bees are so fond of them. They’re prolific bloomers and the plants just hum at the right time of day.
Putting the 2021 beefriends calendar together this week. This shot made it in. Love the detail on the face with the background looking so misty and soft.
I’ll be offering the calendar to those who visit the site (as soon as it’s finished). So keep that in mind. Will be a great splash of color on your wall!
Super-close shot today on the cone flower. Notice the hair on the compound eye – a hair between each lens. Also, looks like this one had been into the Rose of Sharon before hitting the cone flower. Those larger, white chunks of pollen on her back came from that flower (or maybe a wine cup??) .
Like the way this one just glows. Shot in the late afternoon with interesting light…and then that yellow cast from the sunflower just makes the bee glow. Was really taken by the effect when it came off the card. And the sunflowers remind me of my grandmother. Neat to let my mind wander back to such wonderful places.
Been waiting for the sunflowers to fire up. They portend the back end of Summer – which is sad. But the bees are so drawn to them. Often, bumbles and longhorns and others will sleep in them overnight. Found two longhorns nestled in together on the side of one early yesterday. Shame the wind was blowing and the light was so bad. Bee hostel, I guess.
This one is just pretty. Lots of detail, too. You can see her chewed-up wings, her neck, tongue, back of the head behind her eye, and her claws/toes.
The cone flower is kind of neat because its pollen becomes ready in concentric circles or rings. If you look down from above, you can see the pollen ring. The bees always follow the ring around and often present a good profile shot. And sometimes there’s good focus.
A couple of years ago, the neighbors to the east of us redid their parking strip. In it, they planted four Russian Sages. It’s become one of my favorite places to shoot because they’re so easy to get to. In some of the deeper gardens in our yard, it’s tough to get in without squashing things… And the Russian Sage is just a magnet for pollinators. Sometimes they just throb and hum with life.
I like the simplicity of the shot. The light was kind of strange yesterday…and I was fiddling with the settings some. I like the result.
