I still haven't managed to justify robbing the piggy bank for a macro lens so I decided to have a go at some photos using the 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens (handheld and no IS) on the Olympus E-420 DSLR. The photos aren't very sharp but I will persevere and have a few more attempts next week perhaps using a tripod.
My bee id skills are at about the same level as my moth id skills (!) and I particularly find it hard to differentiate between Garden, Buff-tailed and White-tailed but I think the first few photos are of a Buff-tailed bumblebee.
I love the wings in this first photo - looking like colourless stained glass
There were several Common Carder Bees
I checked the St Johns Wort flowers so beloved by the Red-tailed bumblebee but most of the flowers are now past their best and there were only a few common carder bees around.
Bumble bees have a lot of great country names - according to "Bugs Britannica" by Peter Marren and Richard Mabey alternative names include: bumbard, bummie-bee, dumbledore, dusty miller, gairy bee, hummobee, sunny sodger and red arsie. What super names!
A tame (juvenile?) dunnock was busy collecting food from under the feeding station as I was trying to take bee photos.
6 comments:
love that first pic
Thanks Pete. I was quite pleased with that one and is the reason why I shall persevere and try and take some more photos :D
Lavender and bees - a wonderful combination. Those country names for bumblebees are fun. Does this mean Professor Albus Dumbledore (in Harry Potter) was named after a (white-tailed?) bumblebee?
Thanks Rob.
I've just rechecked the Bugs Britannica book Rob about country names (I think Dumbledore is country name for any bumble bee :D) and the book suggests that bumble bees were amongst the familiars for witches and therefore may have given JK Rowling the name of her wizard! Its a great name for a wizard and a bee!
Looking forward to seeing the final film.
Nice photos of the bees and lavender, well done with the tele lens.
Thanks Ian - glad you liked the photos.
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