Finally Found One! - _TNY_7472
I've only ever seen one four-banded flower bee (Anthophora quadrimaculata), several years ago and I *almost* got a shot of it then - but didn't so it was with great pleasure that I discovered this male patrolling the low thyme plants in front of my neighbours' house and trying to chase away all other bees and bugs from "his" thyme. I can't say that he was succsessful in this task - but I was in shooting him!
The flowers on the thyme are so close together that he only had to make short enough flights between them that I could follow him through the viewfinder (typically not very easy when using the MP-E65mm) so even if he made very brief stops at each flower (never stopped buzzing his wings), I managed one or two with him in focus.
Finally Found One! - _TNY_7472
I've only ever seen one four-banded flower bee (Anthophora quadrimaculata), several years ago and I *almost* got a shot of it then - but didn't so it was with great pleasure that I discovered this male patrolling the low thyme plants in front of my neighbours' house and trying to chase away all other bees and bugs from "his" thyme. I can't say that he was succsessful in this task - but I was in shooting him!
The flowers on the thyme are so close together that he only had to make short enough flights between them that I could follow him through the viewfinder (typically not very easy when using the MP-E65mm) so even if he made very brief stops at each flower (never stopped buzzing his wings), I managed one or two with him in focus.