Always a challenge to shoot bees on geraniums. But I sure like to. This is one of my favorite flowers. They seem so optimistic to me…and they persist for so long (blooming, not the individual blossoms). They do, though, tend to sprawl and wander and look a little ratty if left to their own program. The bees love them, though. And the blossoms themselves are really pretty.
Tag: Rozanne
Tiny Sweat Bee in Rozanne Today – Supercute!
This geranium’s blossoms are just a bit bigger than a U.S. quarter dollar coin. I think that’s about 24cm to the rest of the world. Two pics today. First of the entire blossom with the bee – for scale. Second is a tighter crop so that you can see the detail on the bee. Tiny, gorgeous little critter – with bonus beeneck. The sweat bees delight me.
Into the Geranium (Rozanne, I think)
Most of the posts that I make on here are from the gardens here. And so you see a lot of the same flowers. Might get a little tedious, but it is (after all) a bee every day.
So something to notice – patterns. Every flower throws its pollen and provides its nectar in its own way. And the bees adapt their techniques a little to get at it. That one sedum (don’t recall its name) really requires some odd contortion for the bee to get at the good stuff – resulting in lots of shots of beeneck.
And the geranium has its own unique configuration. They really have to go down deep into the center to get it. Hard to shoot. But fun to see.
Also look at the blossom. It’s near the end of its own cycle. Color starting to bleach out. Not the prettiest thing, but interesting.
Beeetongue in the Geranium
The bees were all over the geraniums yesterday. Think it’s Rozanne – the variety, I mean. So tough to shoot because the nectar, I guess, is where her tongue is. So getting a good angle on the shot is tough. But it’s about the only blossom on which I get this posture (or shape) consistently. And I think it’s a neat one. Pretty bee today…down to her extended tongue and pollen on her face and eye. Even a little bit of interesting focus on the geranium itself.
A Russian(?) on Rozanne the Geranium
I think this dark one may be a Russian Honeybee – or at least have some Russian in it. They tend to be darker than the golden European ones. Guess they mix them sometimes, too, for heartiness. Tough to shoot bees on this geranium because the good stuff is deep inside. So there’s not much of an opportunity to get their faces when they’re working. Note the shadows of the anthers on the petals. Neat.
OT 011 – In my Favorite – Rozanne
Almost an archetypal honeybee shot for me. The tongue. The geranium. Reaching for the nectar there deep inside. Love it.
Bonus 004 – Jumping Spider on a Geranium
If this site is about bees and the occasional bonus pollinator, I’m not sure that this shot belongs. But it’s such a neat shot of a tiny, tiny spider that I thought that I’d use poetic license (it’s my site, my rules, right?) and name it an “honorary inadvertent pollinator” for today. All that hair, too…have to think that there’s some transfer here and there now and then?
Bonus 003 – Paper Wasp on a Geranium
Rozanne again. And a great wasp face.
Bee 007 – Maybe a Leafcutter on a Geranium
I think this is Rozanne. One of my very favorites. Attracts not only the honeybees but tons of other pollinators as well. And blooms from early until forever, it seems. A little pushy, but with a name like Rozanne…??
Honeybee on a Geranium Called Rozanne®
Love the eyes and face and tongue on this one. The geranium is called Rozanne® – and I’m not sure what I think about that ®. Guess it’s the way of the world. The geranium is fairly aggressive in that it spreads out however and wherever it can. But it blooms like mad – and persistently. The bees love it. Sometimes, when it’s in full bloom, it’s just throbbing with bee life. Humming. A good one for attracting bees.