Tired Bee - (enlarge)

A really beautiful result with very nice lighting and details, Gail!

I've been noticing something odd about the Bees around my home.

This may be normal, but I've never seen it before. I keep finding

Bees that almost look like they are dead. Sometimes they are just

laying on a leaf, or on a flower. I did do some reading and Bees do

get tired. Today I found one that looked like it was 'stuck' in a

blossom. If the blossom was a perfect circle, it would be about 1 3/4"

across. The blossom was still on the plant in my decorative basket

out front. I took a few shots of the Bee and it was still in the flower

after about 5 minutes. I snipped off the blossom and took it over to

our wrought iron swing on the front porch. I took a few images of the

Bee in the blossom there (see below). I moved the blossom a few

times and suddenly noticed that the abdomen began to pulse.

Suddenly the Bee awkwardly made it's way out of the blossom, it

seemed confused, started to go back into the middle, stopped,

rested more then finally flew away. It was so fascinating to watch. I

have never noticed this in Bees in about 6 years of Photographing

them. (any comments are most welcome;-) Gail)

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Many thanks Ruud for your visit and encouraging comments, ;-) GAil

Gail, I swear I tried to brush him off my monitor. You really are getting good with the macro -the clarity of the wings and the hair on his back is amazing - and that mauve flower is the perfect setting to show off your not so little friend.

Your story about the tired bee is interesting especially in light of reports that bees around the world are starting to disappear. Something's going on.

I totally agree. The odd thing is that we have not had Bumblebees of this type for nearly 4 years. They are in abundance. I know the big worry is Insecticides. I don't use any around our home. Of course they could be in other peoples gardens. Many thanks for your 'humour' - made me smile!!! Many thanks for stopping by. I have another one I want to post that was interesting also.

sincere regards, Gail

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Nice macro!!!  Interesting story??  AJ

Hi Gail

A really good Photo. I wish the bees in our garden would stay still for more than a few seconds.

Regards

Jim

Gail,

A nice story and nice presentation.  Your macro shots are excellent. 

Gail,

  Beautiful macro with wonderful colors & details.  Take care, Patsy

Hi Gail,

A well shot set of images and a good dialogue to accompany them.

I know from my experiences with Honey Bees, that I have witnessed the same type of behavior. Sometimes, the bees travel great distances to get the pollen, but become exhausted. Some have even died, as I see them on the ground.

The competition for food and building materials for their hives can also play a role in the physical state of these bees.

Warmest Regards, Mike

Excellent use of lines and shapes Gail!

A beautiful micro shot, well done. Cheers. Tue.

My sincere thanks for your visits and for sharing your thoughts on this image. I truly appreciate your support.

Thank you for stopping by and for sharing your stories of your experiences with bees. I have read more, and quite often we can save them if they are exhausted. I won't go into it here, but I was quite surprised to know that we can give them a sweet drink to help them recover. I even learned that every so often the Queen leaves the nest and sometimes runs into problems. They are amazing insects. I hope they survive the summer. My appreciation for your continual support and info shared Mike.

Warm regards, Gail

Patsy and Bill - you are always here to share your thoughts about my images, I appreciate it so much.

AJ - glad you enjoyed the story about this particular composition, thanks so much for your visit!

Jim - yes, they are always so frantic when they are gathering Pollen. I don't know why this is happening to these ones, but I am going to keep an eye on them. There is a Naturalist who writes articles in our paper that I might contact about it.

Excellent details, perfect placement, not a trivial background treatment for macro!

Sincere thanks Vlad for your visit and encouraging critique.

Great capture, excellent presentation! Well seen details. It looks like have visit hair stylist... 

Many thanks Jorge!! Sure was an odd sight to observe!!

I think the bee was in the 'trumpet' part of the flower long enough for the hairs to be 'squished upwards'!!! thus the new hair style!!! thanks so much for your visit!!!

Gail,

Your macro are excellent! Always I want to give you 7. 

Best regards, Tina

Great capture . He looks almost too big for the flower ! Bill