Blue Banded Bees
Dec 5, 2023 18:36:49 #
Without a doubt, the hardest subject I've ever tried to photograph...Give me birds in flight any day.. 
I took about 40 shots of these guys at sunset last night and these are the best I could do. The wind didn't help but these guys are so fast and zippy they sit still for less than a second.
What I like about them is how they fly up into your face and hover there to check you out before going back to the flowers..
I added two shots, the last two, as the only ever good shots I've taken of them..and both of them are BIF which surprised me as well.
I took about 40 shots of these guys at sunset last night and these are the best I could do. The wind didn't help but these guys are so fast and zippy they sit still for less than a second.
What I like about them is how they fly up into your face and hover there to check you out before going back to the flowers..
I added two shots, the last two, as the only ever good shots I've taken of them..and both of them are BIF which surprised me as well.
Dec 5, 2023 18:42:31 #
Dec 5, 2023 18:43:15 #
Dec 5, 2023 19:16:48 #
Dec 5, 2023 19:42:24 #
Dec 5, 2023 19:48:42 #
PAR4DCR wrote:
Good work Ron. I have never seen blue banded bees before.
Don
Don
Thanks Don, they are an Australian Native so unless you come down for a visit you won't ever see them...
They are also solitary and live in holes in the ground and walls, etc. They are also excellent pollinators.
About 1/2-2/3rds the size of European Honey Bee.
Dec 5, 2023 19:49:07 #
Dec 5, 2023 19:59:51 #
Dec 5, 2023 20:08:26 #
Dec 5, 2023 23:03:04 #
Wow! These are GREAT, Ron!
We have the same kind of Bees in the US. Not the same species of course, but they are sold to gardeners and arborists specifically for their pollinating efficacy. Apparently very much more efficient than those sluggard honey bees. And tiny, like yours also. They are marketed as "orchard" bees.
We have the same kind of Bees in the US. Not the same species of course, but they are sold to gardeners and arborists specifically for their pollinating efficacy. Apparently very much more efficient than those sluggard honey bees. And tiny, like yours also. They are marketed as "orchard" bees.
Dec 5, 2023 23:53:15 #
Dec 6, 2023 00:37:20 #
Very impressive shots! I’ve had fish come up and check me out while SCUBA diving by bonking me on the face-plate, but I think I’d be un-nerved bay bee doing that- Thanks for sharing.
Dec 6, 2023 05:31:37 #
Dec 6, 2023 07:14:24 #
Dec 6, 2023 08:06:03 #
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