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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 11, 2012 20:53:38 GMT
The top one is a male I think...(you can tell by the punky yellow head fur) and I don't think that they sting. I wouldn't try it on my own (in case I made a mistake)..but when I was visiting an ancient relative who 'knew his bees' he picked one up and let me stroke it! I was a child at the time and I wish that he was still around so that I could learn from him.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 11, 2012 20:57:04 GMT
I thought bee boys didn't work: all the workers are females. The boys just mate with the queen, then are tossed unceremoniously from the hive to die. Am I wrong?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 11, 2012 21:06:26 GMT
You are correct Kimby....bumblebee males don't collect pollen for the hive but still have to feed...so when they hatch they spend a bit of time building up their strength! Not all the males will get to mate with the new queens but will spend their bachelor days hanging out in the hive and garden, feeding on nectar and chillin'...then they will die in the winter. I don't know if any hibernate.
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Post by lugg on Jul 18, 2012 17:12:02 GMT
I am not sure if this is a he/she but it is a another bee
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Post by tod2 on Jul 19, 2012 6:50:19 GMT
Stunning photo Lugg - Well captured!
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Post by mossie on Jul 19, 2012 7:13:35 GMT
Just thought you'd like to know Lugg, that one is a female, or worker. The males are called drones and only live for one purpose!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 19, 2012 15:55:59 GMT
Absolutely wonderful picture, Lugg -- the light and dark areas, the shapes, and the way the extended wing captures the light -- lovely.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2012 23:19:02 GMT
That is an amazing photo Lugg.
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Post by htmb on Jul 25, 2012 4:20:29 GMT
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 25, 2012 19:16:12 GMT
beeeautiful. ;D bombus terrestris....probably
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 26, 2012 0:39:49 GMT
Oh, you girls did such stellar jobs of capturing the fuzzy little worker girls!
Lugg, I love all three, but that last one is the essence of endless golden summer days ~~ lovely!
Cheerykins, that's one of the best of your beautiful bees, not that you ever bumble a bee shot. Fabulous definition & that dear little spiky antenna ~~ great!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2012 12:17:47 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Jul 27, 2012 12:35:14 GMT
Brilliant close-ups! Your photos do you proud Kerouac
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 1, 2012 20:43:21 GMT
Wow Kerouac....I LOVE your photos ! excellent...I wish that i could get such good resolution! respect. I almost hesitate to post mine now..but the bee obsession gets really hard to keep in check when there are so many in the garden... I think that this is a Tree Bumblebee, they used to be rare in the UK but now are widespread here take-off Honey bee on a helenium Om-nom-nom bee? Gatekeeper butterfly
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2012 21:01:13 GMT
Yours are better than mine, Cheery!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 2, 2012 7:48:01 GMT
We will have to agree to disagree Kerouac. I would love to be able to get the detail that you have done in your bottom pic!
I spent yesterday afternoon sitting in the back garden trying to sketch bumblebees, it is so difficult to actually see the detail. I might have to cheat and copy a photograph, altho you never seem to get the sense of movement that 'live' sketching can have.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2012 8:03:31 GMT
Awesome photo's especially the last one.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2012 12:15:11 GMT
It would be easier if I could spray some Raid on them to get them to stop moving.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2012 17:01:23 GMT
Sure it would, but........
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 5, 2012 19:07:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2012 14:09:30 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 8, 2012 15:40:02 GMT
Amazing & beatiful pictures from you two ~~ the bee's knees!
Cheery, the one of the bee perfectly mirroring the curve of the central disk is just a wonderful photo on so many levels. (#49)
Ditto that first one of yours in #50, Kerouac ~~ gorgeous color, composition, clarity!
And whoops ...... I never commented on y'all's first sets above. Gadzooks, they're nice!
Kerouac, that last pic in #41 gives great pleasure each time I look at it, but they're all super.
Cheery, pish-tosh on your misplaced modesty! The take-off, the honeybee, & the nom noms are all knock-outs.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 8, 2012 19:18:03 GMT
Looks like kerouac's got the bee-bug excellent images...might be the common carder bee (it's name doesn't reflect it's beauty) or a tree bumble bee (if it has a white tail)....but then again...I'm guessing I took a pic of this red tailed bee today, it's probably a male but I'm not sure of the species...could be one of 2-3 different bumblebees. Not a brilliant image but I'll post it anyway cos it's a different one. and this lovely male bombus leucorum caught my eye... working girls...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2012 19:38:35 GMT
Mine were not bumblebees today, just the little ordinary ones. They work harder than bumblebees.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 11:44:10 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 12, 2012 16:12:46 GMT
Super pics, Cheery. You actually caught the proboscis in two of them, plus two bees in one shot. Love the one of the male bombus leucorum.
Kerouac, exquisite!
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Post by lugg on Aug 12, 2012 17:38:49 GMT
WOW K2 and Cheery - fantastic , and I also love all the incidental close ups of the flowers .
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 20, 2012 19:18:22 GMT
Cheers medears.... Today we were graced by the visit of Her Royal Highness Princess Red-Tailed Bumblebee...she was so beautiful. and this pretty thing was flirting with another peacock butterfly
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2012 19:24:32 GMT
I tried to get a butterfly today for the first time and failed miserably.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 20, 2012 19:34:51 GMT
They are quite difficult to creep up on aren't they ? ;D
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