Beautiful face and eyes. Nice wings, too. Not much I don’t like about this shot. Seems to capture the critter perfectly in its element – doing what it does.
Elevated-end Bee on a Cone Flower
Tag: Cone Flower
Another Soft One – but with a Native
Similar to yesterday but different. Only the bee was lit up for a second as you can see. One of our natives here in Utah. Great eyes!
It’s on a cone flower, btw. Don’t know why I said aster initially.
Back-end up Bee at the Ogden (Utah) Botanical Gardens
This might be a better illustration of what I described a couple of days ago. Pollenbutt, too.
Yesterday, on the way back from errands, I stopped at the Ogden Botanical Gardens to shoot some bees. Really like the place. While there is a skeleton full-time staff directing the enterprise, much of the work on the upkeep is done by volunteers.
The other neat thing about it is that it’s free – and open from sunup to sunset. In my travels, I often look for municipal/public gardens. Normally, there’s a cost to enter – and lately, with the covids, you have to make an appointment to enter. Not so here. If you’re in the Ogden area, a visit is worth the time. You’ll be well rewarded.
Hairy Eyeball on the Cone Flower
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??) .
Honeybee Profile on a Cone Flower
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.
Pollen-faced Honeybee on a Cone Flower
The flower is aging a little…but there’s still pollen (and harvesting) a good while after the petals fade and curl and fall.
This little one was so excited – moved so quickly. Very pleased that I got a shot of her face with pollen all over. The cone flowers are so attractive to the pollinators. Neat mid-summer to fall bloom.
Bonus – Spider Celebrating on a Cone Flower
Probably not. Probably oblivious. Neat one, though.
Be grateful today, please, irrespective of where you live. The world seems to be in flux right now, but there are so many wonderful things – including the ability to share and access things like these photos (as an example). An incredible time in human history!
And while this has absolutely NOTHING to do with pollinators, it’s a blossom of its own kind…and seems appropriate today.
Bonus – Damselfly on a Cone Flower
Great year for damselflies. They rarely land anywhere interesting…if at all. But there are so many around. This blue/green one seems to be the most common. There’s one spot in the northernmost garden that they almost swarm among some kind of white flower. Looks like they’re hunting as they hover.
I Don’t Really Love this Shot…
…for lots of reasons. But I selected it from yesterday’s batch for the pollen. That’s one of those green, metallic-looking bees that I sometimes post. But look at the yellow pollen obscuring most of the green. That was so interesting to me. Have never seen that in any of my shots yet – to that degree, anyway.
And that corn…er, cone flower again. Bumbles should be hitting those soon!
Simple – Honeybee on a Cone Flower
I really like the simplicity of this shot. Not lots going on…quite a calm, calming photograph.
The cone flowers started blooming a few days ago and they’re starting to throw a little pollen now. Shot this one yesterday early in the day – the bee was pretty inert/cooperative. Maybe that’s part of the calming sense I get when I look at the shot.
