A Sunny Spring Day = Closeups of Bees and Flowers

Well it is sunny and a nice day. I filled the bird feeders intending to do bird photos but while moving a few things that should have been moved months ago I noticed that the bees were all over the Yellow Sorrel that is popping up all over. So first I grabbed my 5DIV and Tamron 180 macro, then switched over to my 100-400L mk2. A total of 231 shots but after culling the out of focus, partial bees (bees in flight are tricky) and bees mooning the camera I ended up with 42 left and some of those will be going on my second cull.
These Yellow Sorrel are just under 1.5" and a bright yellow that in the sunlight tends to have little contrast and blown out highlights so I processed for the veins and other details. That leaves the colors off but it is what I was after. Here is one of just flowers, two with a Bee.
#1 5DIV, Tamron 180 macro, 1/640 @ f/13, ISO 100 hand held
#2 5DIV, Tamron 180 macro, 1/1000 @ f/11, ISO 100 handheld
#3 5DIV, Canon 100-400L mk2 @ 400, 1/800 @ f/16, ISO 800 handheld

Wingstem hosted at Flickr.

I have a friend who is a retired botanist. I think he knows where every plant in the state is, or at least I haven't stumped him yet. He definitely has his favorites. I asked him where I might find Wingstem, which is not very common in Michigan as its range is mostly to the south of us, and discovered that it is not one of his favorites. "What do you want with that ugly weedy thing??" After that I was determined to get a nice photo of the plant and prove him wrong. I found some in bloom last fall and here is the result. They were really tall, 6-8 foot.


Mike, you need to tell your friend or better yet show him this shot that shows that he is wrong about it being a "weedy thing"! It is very graceful and you did great on this shot of it!!!

Wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia, is a perrenial from the Asteraceae (Aster) family. It is found in full sun and most soil along riverbanks, and in fens and thickets. The genus Verbesina includes the Ironweeds, and while the foliage, bloom time (late summer) and growth habit of Wingstem is similar to the Ironweeds, the flower heads on the Wingstem are very different than those on the Ironweed species. It is found almost everywhere in the eastern United States.

Wingstem is an important plant for pollinators, particularly long-tongued bees, especially bumblebees. Other bees, and butterflies, and skippers may visit the flowers, but the long tubes of the florets mean that nectar is relatively inaccessible to them as well as to other insects with shorter tongues, such as flies and wasps. Larvae of the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly and the Gold Moth utilize Wingstem as a host plant.

Range map from the Biota of North America project:

http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Verbesina%20alternifolia.png

Wingstem plant profile from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildfower Center database:

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VEAL

Mike

Dutch Iris on Flickr

Here is Dutch Iris, Iris hollandica, a popular flower in the florist and the nursery trades. This time of year I work with cut flowers getting ready for the new season.

Canon 5D, 100mm macro lens, ISO 100, f/16, 1/100th sec.; natural sunlight, off camera diffused strobe light and LED flashlight. I used the Helicon FB tube for focus bracketing and Zerene for stacking.

Mike