Bee Kind, Bee Calm, Bee Safe

[LeanneC]

I can’t find the old bee throwdown (didn’t I leave you in charge of that one for the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, Rob?) so I thought I would start a new one. Honeybees, bumblebees, miner bees, mason bees etc. Anything bee related. I will kick us off with an image I shot today in the backyard…

Honeybee on Polar Bear Willow – I call it ‘Bee Fabulous’

 

[Tobie]

You caught him nicely Leanne! I don’t do many bee shots so I’m attaching an oldy from just after I bought my first DSLR and was still learning about what was possible and what not! 😉

[LeanneC]

Great job catching a bee in flight Tobie! Most of my flying bee shots are terribly out of focus, or butt shots. And bee-utiful blanket flowers.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

This is a very cheerful image Tobie. Love it 🙂

[Astaroth]

Wow, I love the light, the colours and the freezing moment.

[David Chesterfield]

Leaf cutter bee

 

[David Chesterfield]

Teddy Bear Bee

 

[David Chesterfield]

Blue Banded Bee

[LeanneC]

Great images. I love this bee! I wonder at the evolution and adaptation that created a blue rear end for this creature. What purpose might it serve?

[David Chesterfield]

Bumble Bee

The large earth bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, is common in Tasmania, where one queen was illegally introduced.

 

[LeanneC]

Nice David! We have been seeing so many bumblebees this season. I feel honored that they visit our yard. But they are like super noisy blimps and they tend to run into things and people (one hit my husband the other night).

[Jay Ward]

Not sure if this is a bee or a hornet.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Wow! Love this Jay 🙂

[LeanneC]

Very nice, Jay. Definitely a hornet or wasp.

[Tobie]

Looks like a hornet Jay. Well done!

[Graham Hart]

Not sure what this is but it was crawling along the ground between the soursob weeds. Looks similar to yours Jay.

[LeanneC]

Nice Graham! Looks like a wasp to me. We have wasps that build their homes in the ground here. They do provide a service in eating bugs in the garden.

[Tobie]

Luvit Graham!

@diripics

[LeanneC]

 

[Astaroth]

Very nice! I love the stamens around the bee and the sharpness! I think you uses my same lenses. Do you use anything else (for example, extension tubes)?

[LeanneC]

Hi Astaroth. I missed this comment. Thank you. You shoot with a Tamron as well? I just love it. No, I don’t use extension tubes. I have never felt like I needed more out of the lens. And you?

[LeanneC]

[Dahlia Ambrose]

This is a great shot Leanne. Love the vibrant colours 🙂

[Tobie]

The colour combo in the last one is 👌 Leanne!

[LeanneC]

Thanks Tobie!

[Tom M]

Flower and Bee…

[LeanneC]

Hello Tom! Self-preservation for me meant taking a break from online stuff for a bit, which means I missed this lovely bee image of yours (until just now). Great shot. Thanks for sharing.

[ElinL]

Wow Leanne – this one is great – one for the wall !

[LeanneC]

Thanks Elin! Was away for a bit so I am getting caught up on threads.

[Peter Nowak]

Old piece…

[LeanneC]

Gorgeous shot Petr.

[Peter Nowak]

Thanks Leanne…

[Patrick]

Nice shot mate.

[Dave Watkins]

Probably the largest bumble bee I’ve ever seen. And the loudest. Drowned out all the other buzzing sounds from the rest of the bees in the garden. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Super capture Dave! Nice to know the bees are doing well. We’ve seen lots of bumbles around here this year as well. They are loud, aren’t they?!

[Dave Watkins]

Honey bee on Narrow-leaf Milkweed.

[LeanneC]

Love this shot. Can see the texture of the bees ‘fuzz’ so well. I want to pet it!

[Astaroth]

Thanks @pentaxfan :)!

I like very much this one! The soft colours and the focus (it separates background and foreground perfectly)! On the other hand, these narrow-leaf milkweeds are very exotic and beautiful for me :).

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Leanne. After planting our “butterfly” garden last year it’s been interesting to learn just how pollinator specific some of the flowers are. The bumble bee is feeding on a Tall Verbena. I’ve seen butterflies, humming birds and bumble bees using it. Have never seen a honey bee or any of the native species of bees and wasps on it.

The honey bees have the milkweed pretty much all to themselves. Maybe because there is such a large number of them the other pollinators stay away.

[LeanneC]

Somehow missed this reply! It is interesting to see what the bees will go after. We don’t have milkweed here but I have started a bit of a journal of what flowers they visit through the spring and summer. This year, I noticed that they were very active on the polar bear willow (a native species) in early spring. Then moved to the mountain ash (loads of bumblebees as well). Now the lavender, thyme and oregano are the hot spots. We have local beekeepers so we get a mix of honeybees and native species. I have been trying to identify and track visitors to our yard.

Yesterday I had to laugh. I was hanging out by the oregano catching shots when I heard some loud buzzing. I kept looking around to see what was making the sound. Right at my feet, in the clover on our lawn was a medium sized bumble bee the whole time I was shooting the ones in the oregano!

[Dave Watkins]

🙂 Great story. And great idea to keep a record of what goes on in the garden. Not long ago I was a bit concerned that we haven’t seen many butterflies yet. Then I looked at my image files and saw that most of my shots from last year were in late July, August and into September.

[LeanneC]

I had the same thought about the damselflies and dragonflies but then realized they usually show up more in August in our backyard/garden. I wish they would come sooner and eat some of the mosquitoes!

[Dave Watkins]

The honey bees love the Coreopsis.

[Patrick]

Lovely photos mate.

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Patrick. Bees are the most interesting subjects in the yard right now. Hoping  to get over to the coast soon to shake things up a bit. 🙂

[Patrick]

Best of luck Dave can’t wait to see what you find 😉

[Dave Watkins]

🙂 Thanks Patrick. Something always comes up to keep us from heading west. Fingers crossed for this week.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful photos Dave 🙂

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Dahlia. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Our lavender is where the bees are at these days!

[Patrick]

Cracking work 😉

[LeanneC]

Thanks Patrick. They make it very hard to get yard work done…very distracting!

[Dave Watkins]

🙂 I’ve spent way too much time this summer with camera in hand rather than a hoe or shovel. I bet lavender honey would be delicious.

[Ruth]

Wow!  Incredible detail and angles.  He’s looking right at me!  Nice work!

[LeanneC]

Thanks Ruth!

[Joanne Van Praag]

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful macro Joanne 🙂

[LeanneC]

Very nice, Joanne.

[Dave Watkins]

Female Wool carder bee gathering nest material from Rose Campion flower stem. Has a pretty good ball of fuzz collected underneath her but still working to get more. Was fun to watch. Had never heard of, or seen, these bees. Took a bit of research to find out what it was.

[Graham Hart]

One of the best bee pics I’ve seen Dave simply because it shows the bee’s intent very clearly. It doing a job with a purpose in mind and your pic shows this in perfect clarity. Those eyes are almost like a polished helmet.

I’ve always thought of bees as living in hives so a nest is quite new to me. Thanks for the info and the great shot.

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Graham. 🙂 Watching this bee fly in and out of this plant, ignoring the flowers on the outside, peaked my interest enough to take a look inside to see what she was doing. Watching her scrape off the “silk” with her mandibles and gather it underneath her was a bit of a surprise. Again, had never even heard of this before.

[Patrick]

The researching has become a very important part to getting great photos like this mate well done for your work it certainly paid off , love learning new things everyday ;).

 

[Dave Watkins]

I appreciate your kind words Patrick. Thank you. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Agree with Graham 100%! Great image showing a bee at work in a very different way. I love the learning through observation that occurs through macro and all photography, really. Thanks for sharing!

[Dave Watkins]

Thank you Leanne. Means a lot. I do love the noticing, capturing and research aspect of photographing the “macro world.” I’ve recently realized that over the years I’ve missed a lot of interesting stuff that was so close but just out of view. That has changed. One of the few perks of growing old and slowing down I guess. 🙂

[Dahlia Ambrose]

This is a brilliant image Dave 🙂

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Dahlia. Your comment much appreciated. 🙂

[Erik Fransman]

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful one Erik 🙂

[LeanneC]

Love seeing bees on sunflowers. Nice capture Erik!

[Patrick]

Love this Erik 😉

[Anne Hornsby]

@erik-fransman   Wow, amazing Erik!   The composition and sharpness are top notch.  And I love the background horizon tilting downward.

Could I ask the EXIF on this?

[David Chesterfield]

Australian Native (stingless) bees

[Patrick]

Awesome detail Dave , lovely shot 😉

[Patrick]

Sorry David 😉

[David Chesterfield]

Thanks Patrick – and no problem, I am not precious about Dave or David 🙂

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful image David 🙂

[LeanneC]

Nice! They look a bit like our sweat bees, that do have stingers but don’t hurt quite as much as other bees.

[Dave Watkins]

The honey bees love Narrow-leaf Milkweed.

[Patrick]

Another beauty Dave , always lovely details 😉

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Awesome details Dave. Love it ! 🙂

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Dahlia.

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Patrick. Carol and I have been spending more time hanging out in the garden recently. A nice place to relax. Plenty of bee photo ops too. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Me too Dave! Our garden has been a sanctuary for me this year. It is the one place I can get distracted enough to forget about other things. Not sure what I will do when winter comes though! So, in the meantime, I am saving up all the colours and images that I can.

[LeanneC]

Hopefully I have my ID correct in calling this a sweat or halactid bee. They are small, gentle bees that cover many of the flowers in our backyard this time of year. This gal looked like she was popping over the corn leaf to say: Hello there!

[Patrick]

Lovely work Leanne , nice share 😉

[Dave Watkins]

Excellent! 🙂 Made me smile. It’s not easy capturing such clean, uncomplicated surroundings when following these little buggers around the garden.

[LeanneC]

Thanks Dave and Patrick! It was a fun shot.

[Patrick]

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Wow Patrick! Love it <3

[Patrick]

Thanks very much Dahlia , the local pond has plenty going on 😉

[Dave Watkins]

Nice catch Patrick. In flight pics always add that something extra.

[Patrick]

Thank you Dave , i was searching for Damselflies but never seen one then this little bee showed up 😉

[LeanneC]

Super Patrick! Love flying shots. Do they always fly with their tongues out? LOL

[Patrick]

Thank you Leanne , this one kept flying back and forth to these reeds it looked as if it was taking bits from the bull rush fibers , i think it was playing mind games with me ;).

 

[ElinL]

Well caught Patrick !

[Daniel Krueger]

This was my very first macro shot. I got SUPER lucky. =)

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Brilliant Daniel 🙂

[Dave Watkins]

Off to a great start. Nicely done. If this was the shark tank I’d suggest you get rid of the green in the upper left. But this is not the shark tank so I won’t. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Great shot Daniel! You nailed the focus with that narrow DOF. Hard to tell, but this might be a hoverfly – they display bee-like characteristics. I love trying to identify the critters I shoot. I think I will amend this Throwdown to say “Shots of bees and bee-like insects” There. Amended. Thanks for sharing.

[Dave Watkins]

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Love the shot and the colours Dave 🙂

[Dave Watkins]

Thank you Dahlia. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Love these fuzzy ones, Dave! Perfect position of the bee on the flower. I often find myself waiting for a bee to come across the top of a flower only to discover it has moved on.

[Dave Watkins]

Like the old catsup commercial. “Anticipaaationnnn.” 🙂

[LeanneC]

I believe this is another halactid or sweat bee (there are so many different kinds) but I wasn’t going to ask it to open its wings to verify that there are two sets so it could be a “bee-like” critter. These guys are smaller than your average bee (fly-sized) and move quickly.

[Dave Watkins]

Nice! Great color combo. Looks like the flower is an Aster. A favorite of all the smaller pollinators in our garden. I rarely see a honey bee or bumble bee on ours.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful Leanne 🙂

[Astaroth]

Hi everyone :)!

I haven’t shot very often in last years, especially about the macrophotography… but I bring some of my old pictures.

I think the last one is a diptera (not a bee), but it seems a bee :).

[Dave Watkins]

Three very nice images Astaroth. Hopefully you can get back out there soon and capture more of the little critters.

[Patrick]

These are all beautiful , thanks for sharing 😉

[Astaroth]

Thank you, @patrickw, for your comment :). This thread has inspired me, I should looking for time to shot to these bugs again!

[LeanneC]

Yay! So glad that you are inspired to shoot more macro, Astaroth. Looking forward to seeing the results.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Love the details Astaroth. Good to see you back 🙂

[Astaroth]

Thanks @dahliaambrose :)! I hope to use my camera more often and visit these forums more frequently :)!

[Dave Watkins]

[LeanneC]

Lovely Dave. I like the detail in the bees eye. The wings look rough, like it has been through a battle or wind!

[Dave Watkins]

[LeanneC]

Looks like the same bee as above? I think it is wearing fuzzy chaps!

[Dave Watkins]

I looked at a couple of bee ID sites and as near as I can tell these are both some type of Long-horn bee. They’re really small. Although these pics were only two frames apart they’re different bees. The one on the Aster has more pollen on its hind leg. For some reason I see quite a few bees with beat up wings in the garden. Rough neighborhood?

[LeanneC]

I wonder if the torn wings are just a thing you see as the season wears on. But I like your imaginative take on it 😉

[LeanneC]

It is often my last image of a set that I love and this one was really pushing it with the last light of the day. I had been looking for this particular halictid (sweat bee) all summer so to stumble across one getting cozy and settling in for a nap on some grass seed was such a sweet surprise. Click to go to Flickr if you want to learn a little more about his particular bee.

I call it Let Sleeping Sweat Bees Lie

[Dave Watkins]

Beautiful image. Love the background. Exceptional detail seen on Flickr. Enjoyed learning a little more about these bees. I’ve seen some male sweat bees in our garden but no females. Yet. Thanks to you I now know the difference. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Thank you Dave. I saw lots of these bees last summer. This year, only the one.

[Patrick]

Nice shooting , as always clear and detailed 😉

[LeanneC]

Thanks so much, Patrick.

[Dave Watkins]

Impressive load of pollen. Honey bees finally found the Asters. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Looks like she rolled in the pollen! Awesome.

[Dave Watkins]

🙂  Seems to be plenty to go around. The past few days I’ve seen quite a few bees with heavy loads of pollen whenever I visit the garden.

[ElinL]

Busy bee – greetings. Its last days of summer here so they are incredibly busy.

[LeanneC]

Hello Elin! Great shot of a very fuzzy bee. Love the detail in the wing. Our bees have been working frantically as well. There is definitely a fall feel in the air even though the sun is still warming us.

[ElinL]

Thank you Leanne. The autumn rains have just set in, so regrettably this may be one of the last bee shots this year.

[Dave Watkins]

Love the warm light on the bee in contrast to the dark vignette. Works really well here.

[ElinL]

Thank you Dave.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Awesome image and details Elin 🙂

[ElinL]

Thank you so much Dahlia, appreciated 🙂

[Dave Watkins]

Another bumble bee on a purple cone flower. A common sight these days in our garden.

[Patrick]

Stunning work mate , pin sharp and detailed with a cracking background lovely combination Dave , i have been grounded for nearly 3 weeks with a busted toe lol , looking forward to getting out soon almost healed now.

[ElinL]

Lovely Dave

[Dave Watkins]

Thank you Elin.

[LeanneC]

Very nice shot, Dave. And heal quickly, Patrick!

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful light and colours Dave 🙂

[Dave Watkins]

Thank you 🙂

[ElinL]

Lovely Dave !

[Dave Watkins]

Many thanks Patrick. 🙂  Broken toe. Ouch! My money’s on you posting more great images once you’re up and around. Take care mate.

[LeanneC]

This was one of the bigger bumblebees I have seen. It was enjoying the flowers on the sage in the grasslands that surround our community.

[Dave Watkins]

Yellow flower makes a perfect back drop for that bee. Love that detail in the 2nd image.

[LeanneC]

Thanks Dave!

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Love them both Leanne 🙂

[LeanneC]

Thanks Dahlia. I always feel lucky to see bumble bees. Even better to catch an image!

[ElinL]

Adorable creatures – so well caught Leanne 🙂

[LeanneC]

Thanks Elin. They are lovely critters.

[Rob Eyers]

Spotted this one while on a walk.

[Dave Watkins]

Beautiful details and colors. I agree with Dahlia. I always like seeing the little specks of pollen in bee pics.

[ElinL]

Amazing detail caught with the 400 mm – its not exactly a macro lens. Lovely composition.

[Rob Eyers]

Thanks Dave, Elin, Dahlia and Leanne.

I guess the best lens to use is the one on your camera Elin. The new 100-400 is much better than the previous one IMHO. I need to manual focus with live view for these kind of shots though.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Love this image and  all those pollen details Rob 🙂

[LeanneC]

Yes, that is a well-coated bee! Nice shot.

[Dave Watkins]

Honey bee checking out a Showy Milkweed seed pod.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful Dave 🙂

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Dahlia. 🙂 I’m getting an ERROR message telling me that “Thanks Dahlia. 🙂 is a duplicate reply; it looks as though you’ve already said that.” Guess I’ll have to mix up my thank you’s a little. 🙂

[LeanneC]

Oh cool. We don’t have milkweed here and I didn’t know that is was it looks like close up. Great shot, Dave.

[Dave Watkins]

Thanks Leanne. From a distance they don’t look this “spiky.” She must have been tired. No pollen or nectar but stayed here for quite some time.

[LeanneC]

A honeybee resting on the corn.

[Dave Watkins]

A really nice frame you captured her in. Light and detail spot on as well.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Love this Leanne 🙂

[Federico Alegria]

Bee furry too :)!

[Tersha]

So many amazingly good shots!

Bee on clover

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful Diane 🙂

[LeanneC]

What a cute fuzzy white rear end! Almost looks like it got high-centered on the clover.

[Dave Watkins]

Thumbs up. I’m amazed at how acrobatic they can be in order to hang on.

[Author]

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