I like this shot for its simplicity. Single stalk. Single bee. Quiet background. No wind that morning. Just that cooler, quieter time before the day begins in earnest. I think the feel from this shot captures that somewhat.
The Longhorn in the Sunflower
Just a pretty simple shot of the longhorn in a sunflower. Lots of sunflower variants every year…and those variations are a direct result of the pollination that the bees do. Simple shot, but a good one.
Again: Leafcutter on the Russian Sage
Kind of a goofy face on her today. But I love it. Good look at her eye and tongue. She’s grooming herself. They pause sometimes and become very fastidious about cleaning their tongues. Good time to shoot them because they stay in one place for a bit.
Hunt’s Bumble from one Globe Thistle to Another
Note that there’s a photobomber in the background. Light is kind of silly on the flowers, but it’s great on the bee. Love them in flight! Oh, and that’s thistle pollen on her.
Digger Bee – Russian Sage
The truth of it is that luck plays a role in getting a good in-flight shot. Not saying that there’s not a good bit of skill and practice involved. There is. And I get lots luckier the better I get with the camera. This one is just fun. Delightful. And that Russian Sage. Might just give up and acquire the URL: www.dailybeeonrussiansages.com. Or something. Maybe best to stick with bees.photo. I can remember that one, at least.
Carpenter Queen on a Daylily
Was thinking this morning that I wished that I had more shots on the daylilies. So…of course…as I was looking at the globe thistles, I saw this huge queen carpenter bee bouncing from daylily to daylily. She didn’t even really stay long enough to alight on any one. Her strategy seemed to be to bounce around and get filthy. In some of the pics, it’s impossible to tell where the daylily’s anthers and the bee’s pollen sacs begin and end. Neat. Oh, and because it was so early in the morning (and overcast to boot), I was shooting at only about half as fast as I normally do. But I did get a few neat shots.
BumbleTongue on the Hearty Plumbego
One of the bluest flowers in the garden – Ceratostigma plumbaginoides. The bees aren’t on it often. And when they are, they don’t stay long. Felt lucky to get this look. Great face, tongue, and pollen basket. And the flower’s cute, too. Morning light today so the whole thing is a little blue (evening light has more yellow to it). Yeah, yeah, yeah, white balance and all that…but it’s still true.
Territorial Leafcutter
I used to post the pics first and then the narrative. I think I’ll go back to that. Don’t know why I changed it. So…narrative under the pic on this one.
The bumble was minding her own business there on the cone flower. That blurry leafcutter decided to knock her off. Didn’t even move her. When they hit each other or honeybees, normally the one who got hit flies off. Not the case with the big bumbles. They just seem to shrug it off and keep going. Kind of a messy shot, but it’s pretty dynamic. Wish it were about 1/10th of a second later, though. Just before impact.
Bonus: Dragonfly on the Russian Sage
First dragonfly of the year for me! That Russian Sage again. Just a magnetic plant. Such a beautiful dragonfly, too.
Native Leafcutter on the Russian Sage
A couple of years ago, our neighbors replaced their grass parking strip with a water-wise garden. In addition to a number of other things, they planted four Russian Sages. The garden looks great and I love the sages because they so many attract bees and other pollinators. Don’t think I’ve ever shot this particular leafcutter before. It’s really a neat one.
