At art festivals, I’m often asked if I ever get stung or how many times I’ve been stung. I’m assuming they mean by bees rather than hornets and don’t want to hear about how I tried to burn out a hornet’s nest at midday. Nobody wants to hear about that. It ain’t that pretty at all.
But since I’ve been taking pictures of bees, I think I’ve only been stung three times. And only once with the camera in hand. And that was when I was on my hands and knees on the lawn trying to shoot a little one (not today’s pic) on some clover – and I inadvertently squashed another with my hand – and she reacted in the only way she knew how. The other two almost don’t count in that they happened when I was trying to catch a swarm (in the wrong sort of protective gear) and a couple flew up my jacket and couldn’t get out. They were very patient before they finally gave in to frustration or panic.
Anyway, nearly every day in the summer I get my face and camera right up on them – lots of different species. Sometimes only a couple of inches away. They’ve got no interest in stinging. They’re pretty patient. Sometimes I even think they like to pose ;). Even the wasps aren’t very interested in that. The hornets, on the other hand, might be a different story. But in my experience, there’s no reason at all to fear the bees. They’ve got much better things to do than to mess with you.
Oh, I probably should say something about this shot. It’s not a great one. But I like it for the grass in the fore and back. Lots going on in the camera’s world. But business as usual in hers.
