View allAll Photos Tagged bees
Bee Cove Falls - Med to Low Flow, Top Cascade, Sumter National Forest, Mountain Rest, SC....After making it down the steep descent, the trail opened up to an entry point on a rock shelf in front of the falls. From where I was standing to make this photograph, about two feet to my left, the second cascade dropped about 30 feet in a free fall over the brink. It was thickly flanked by wild rhododendron on the sides (now I've come to think...I don't know what's worse...wild rhododendron or kudzu! In terms of a landscape nuisance, I regard them both to be about the same...well at least the rhododendrons bloom and provide some helpful and trusty hand-holds on steep slopes, although they can easily over-grow a waterfall!) The ridgelines on both sides of the creek gorge were incredibly steep. I thought I could barely make out a trail leading below to the base of the second drop, but due to the rampant Summer growth and deadfall it was barely discernable. The Bee Creek terrain at the head of FS 702 begins at an elevation of 2800 feet and continually drops reaching 1800 feet at the confluence of Wilson Creek. I decided to save the bushwhack to the trails to the lower cascades, "choosing my poison", so the speak; for another time in early Spring after Winter. Out on the ledge in front of the falls, there were boulders to sit on and the cool air blowing off the waterfall aided towards a great reset. By the time I made it to the falls, the sun decided to come out from behind the clouds. I shot this capture using a 4 Stop ND Filter. I'll share one last photo after this one tomorrow.
stack of xx (not a lot) shots handheld (focus bracketing without flash) at 2x magnification (1/250s, f/11, ISO6400).
Taken in the back garden this morning. We have a huge Bottlebrush tree which is nearly 20 feet tall and at the moment is constantly humming with the sound of hundreds of bees feeding.
I have seen these trees/shrubs in the US and South America but was surprised to discover that they are native to Australia.
The flowers produce pollen and nectar. The bee drinks some, but also mixes it with the pollen to create a paste that is transported back to the hive on it's specially adapted rear legs. Isn't nature amazing?
For more of my flower photos, please check out my Floral Albums:
www.flickr.com/photos/130881643@N04/albums/72157649719396...
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www.flickr.com/photos/130881643@N04/albums/72157652148511...
The questions continue...
You might remember this little hole in a fence post at St Cyrus. A few weeks ago, I'd noticed a couple of male leafcutter bees on these posts, so on another visit I looked for nest holes in the posts, and was thrilled to find one occupied hole, but was then surprised to see that it was occupied not by a bee, but by a digger wasp (`Flick' back about 10 images in my stream). Since then, when I've been at St Cyrus, I've keenly looked in on the digger wasp as I passed; it was there every day I checked. Yesterday, after a break of about 6 days, I think, I was back and checked the post to find not the digger wasp but a cute bee in the same hole! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, so this is a quick snap on my phone.
I'm curious about what's gone on here; could they both be using the same hole?; did the wasp move out naturally, and then the bee moved in?; did the bee evict the wasp?; is one a parasite?; are they both nesting?; was one or both using it as shelter?
I'm also not sure what type of bee this is. The leafcutters I saw (a few photos in my recent uploads) have now been kindly IDd by the expert Steven Falk, as one of the rarer leafcutters, the black-headed leafcutter bee (Megachile circumcincta). This could be a female (according to his book, they usually nest in sandy ground, but have also been reported to nest in wood), but that's a wild guess.
So much to learn :D
Bee putting necter into a cell, if you look you can see all the necter/honey. Once all the water has evaporated off the necter the bees seal the top of the cells with wax because it is ready and has become honey.
Oh, I love hugging you!
Thank you all for your views, faves and/or comments! It’s greatly appreciated! Have a lovely day! :-)
I searched for an intelligent, mind-expanding quote about bees and found mostly quotes about the Bee Gees and bee's knees. Do you see any knees on this bee?
The off-camera strobe my husband used to photograph this bee did not seem to disturb it after some 20 photos. This bee and others continued to gather pollen as we left. Good stuff, that pollen!
Cooler, windy, and overcast here today. A temporary respite.