On one particular visit to the farm, myself and a group of cousins had decided it would be a good idea to play in the corn crib. On the way there, one of us found a bumble bee hive and without thinking, jabbed a stick into it.
Well, you can imagine the mass panic which ensued. If I remember correctly, my youngest uncle and one of my cousins (the poker) were the only ones stung. But that area of the farm was not a place to visit for the rest of the day.
Several years ago, while I was wandering around looking for birds to photograph, I came across a flower garden containing dozens of different flowers. And on each flower was a bumble bee. I stood there watching them for a moment and realized there were several different species. It was at that point I decided that I would also photograph bumble bees...which on my next next photo safari, turned into anything flying or crawling around on more than two legs.
Below are some of my better bumble bee shots. The first two were taken in Michigan, near the town of Kaleva. The rest were photographed during my safaris around my hometown of Redmond, Oregon. I have done my best to identify the critters, but please don't take my identification as gospel. I have been known to be wrong.
Michigan Bumble Bees
Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Golden Northern Bumble BeeOregon Bumble Bees
Red Saddle Bumble Bee
Morrison's Bumble Bee
Red Saddle Bumble Bee
Yellow-faced Bumble Bee
Morrison's Bumble Bee
Red Saddle Bumble Bee
Red Saddle Bumble Bee
Golden Northern Bumble BeeIf you enjoyed my collection of bee photos, go to Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme and check out some of the other players. Better yet, join in the fun with your own critter pics.
21 comments:
Your photos are absolutely wonderful and I really enjoyed the story that you told first. It is amazing how many different types of bees there are.
I totally enjoyed your pictures.I want to tell you one time I found a bumble bee in a container that had water in it the bumble was still alive but couldn't get out.So I grabbed a stick and got him out.I felt so good doing such a good deed.Fortunately he didn't sting me.
Nice close-ups!
I played too :)
Beautiful images. I too have added bumble bees as well as most flying creatures to my list of things I will photograph. I have to say though I favor those Michigan bees over the rest. :-)
I like the red saddle one... hmmm, almost sounds like a name I'd give a critter! Can you believe I just said that I like a BEE??? Geesh, I've come a long way ;-)
Red saddle, yellow face... Yep, finally they start giving critters names that make sense! It's about time :-D
Not sure why, but I'm partial to the photos with purple flowers. Strange, I know.
my passion is flowers. Angle #1 on the pansy quite unique being sucked in..sandy
amazing shots
My CC post this week in HERE. Hope you have time to visit. Thanks.
amazing shots
My CC post this week in HERE. Hope you have time to visit. Thanks.
Ash: What a neat set of Bumble Bees. I almost did the same thing with bees and changed my mind the last minute.
Love the photos! I keep running into bumblebees and have started wanting to learn to identify them. Can you point me in the direction of a good reference book?
As a beekeeper of honey bees, apis mellifera, it was a joy to see the other bees - bumbles - all in a row. At Univ of Illinois a prof has a 'beespotter' project documenting all the bees we see. I'll send a link. Drakez
Who knew there were so many different types of bees? Your photos are beautiful and I enjoyed your childhood story too! :)
Amazing. I had no idea we had so many different bees in Oregon. I'll have to start noticing the differences.
Wow very interesting. I have seen bumble bees, but never really took the time to stop and examine them. The first and fourth ones I'm sure I've never come across before. Nice job
Great shots...and I'm also impressed by your ability to ID them!
It was a good decision of yours to take photos of these interesting insects, which we know so little about. CC expands our knowledge of many creatures and increases our love of the animal in general. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos.
I really enjoyed reading your post. The first shot is my favourite, it's prefect.
The Bitih Bumbele bee is dwindling in numbers. I Haven't seen half of the ones you have shown. So beautifully captured.
What a nice collection of bumblebees. I especially like it that you know what the different ones are! Very cool.
I used to be leery of photography bees until I realized they were more interested in the flowers than me. These are gorgeous shots, each one as great as the next. :-)
Always good to see bees...I fear for their survival.
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