Lots going on here. Two Longhorns, two sweat bees, and lots of color in the petals. Shot toward the end of July. I love the sunflowers. They’re all bee-created hybrids and it’s fun to see where in the yard they’ll show up…and how they vary from year to year. Fantastic!
Tag: longhorn bee
A Standby: Sublime Longhorn in a Sunflower
The longhorns are so partial to the sunflowers. And they’re such complex, hairy-looking things. Have so many shots of them that are similar to this. And most of them give the same feeling. There’s an easy smoothness looking at them. They’re all different – and this one is great if only for the green background. Nice combination of colors and shapes – even composition is interesting. And, of course, the bee looks great.
Odd Focus on a Longhorn on a Sunflower
The depth on this one is so pronounced. Notice where the focus is and where it goes. It’s a little distracting, but it’s pretty compelling, too. Not great art, but surely a study in something (if only the bee’s eye).
Longhorn on the Russian Sage
This is a super-neat picture. Love the eye and the antennae spread like that. One of my favorites of the year.
In other news, I got to shoot accidentally yesterday. I went to Harbor Freight but arrived before it opened. On the sidewalk in front of the store, a little merlin (falcon – larger than a kestrel but smaller than a peregrine) had taken down a pigeon and was busy disassembling it. Good luck that I had a camera in the car, but it had a 100mm (bee) lens on it. She let me get within about six feet of her as she fed (moved incrementally) and I got some neat shots. Well, if dinnertime for a falcon is neat (and it is). Felt good to click again after some fallow time.
The Blanket Flower – Pulling Them All In
Current festival: On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (September 4-6), I’ll be in Avon, Colorado in Nottingham Park with my art. Stop by and have a look. Bonus here is that on Monday night, Los Lobos will be playing a free show.
I generally prefer a head-on or true profile shot. This one is like a one quarter shot, but the focus is good all the way along…from the end of the abdomen to the eye and antennae. And it’s probably good to see the little ones from all angles. And there’s that blanket flower again. If you’ve been on the site for a while you’ll know I’m a big fan of these flowers – and one of the many, many reasons is that they attract all sorts of pollinators. Seems some flowers are more geared to one type of bee or another. And there’s nothing at all wrong with that. Everyone needs to eat where they can. But…having something that attracts all has great value, too. And the blanket flower is one of those. A (native) longhorn in this case.
Some Strange Antenna Articulation
Current festival: On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (September 4-6), I’ll be in Avon, Colorado in Nottingham Park with my art. Stop by and have a look. Bonus here is that on Monday night, Los Lobos will be playing a free show.
Yesterday, the longhorns were all over this particular goldenrod. Tried to catch multiples in a single shot, but failed at that. This one, though, really struck me. I’ve seen them do some strange things with their antennae, but never seen an arc like this. Just curling all the way around. I’ve also never seen them so enthusiastic about the goldenrod. Normally, they prettymuch stick to ths sunflowers. Fun fact: Only female longhorns have stingers. The males don’t. Not entirely sure how to figure out the difference, though, except for that. And that method seems dumb.
What More Do You Need…
…to become convinced to plant some blanket flowers? They’ve been blooming for a number of weeks (months?) and are a fantasy land for bees. Here’s today’s evidence 😉 :
Three bumbles, one longhorn, and one honey bee (and both of those caught in flight). Fun pictures today!
Bonus: A View into a Bee Hotel
Five bees on this one. Top two in focus, the bottom not. Very, very narrow focal plane… But the flower looks great. Fun light this morning.
Oh, the bees are all longhorns. You really get a good look at the antennae (for which they’re named) in the upper-right bee.
Welcome to the Hotel Sunflower
Three longhorns this morning sleeping in what seems like a bee hotel – shot this morning. A bit of trouble with the too-few syllables in Sunflower to make it work, but sometimes you get what you get.
The longhorn bees really have an affinity for the sunflowers. I rarely see them on other blossoms. A nice bed for them. Imagining sleeping in a sunflower…maybe in another life. Strange post today. Flow of (un)consciousness or something. But, again, you get what you get…
Two Sharing a Sunflower
This is so bad…it’s after five p.m. here, and I’ve not posted a bee yet today. When I travel, I pre-load a few new shots and schedule them to publish in the early morning (usually) – so they are available, consistently, early in the day.
When I’m here, I’m so consumed with catching up on other parts of life so I don’t post until way late. At least I’ve not missed a day. Yet.
So…here are a couple of natives sharing a sunflower yesterday. That metallic green sweat bee (again) along with a longhorn bee. The longhorns really love the sunflowers. I seldom see them anywhere else. Fun shot!
