Thursday, July 23, 2009

Bumblebee and Milkweed

Today I have some excellent photos of a bumblebee for you. I haven't seen very many that are better than these. I have something from just about every angle for you. Before any of you think that I'm shamelessly bragging, I would just like to say...

You're right! I am! I took these pictures all by myself, so I have the right to brag about every single shot. Not only that, these are only a small sample of the pictures I took of this bumblebee. I have many more that are at least as good as these.

Okay, now that I got the evil part out, I just want to say that this was an extremely lucky event, and this relaxed bumblebee was the one that made it all happen. Usually when I try to get pictures of a creature like this, it flies away before I get anything. This one waited patiently while I took every picture I wanted.

This bee was much too busy enjoying these milkweed blossoms to be afraid of me. In fact, it actually flew to a closer blossom while I was able to get twice as many pictures and more angles. This was a dream come true for me while I stood there and watched this bumblebee.

I have always admired the closeup pictures of bees and other insects I've seen at some of your blogs. I'm glad to be able to try to return a good closeup look at something like this. I'm sure you can guess how excited I was when I was taking these pictures.

The story part of this post is obviously full of more nonsense than usual, mostly because I want it to be more about the pictures this time. I got lucky enough to bring you some that I'm really proud of, and my camera even cooperated this time. The milkweed came out a little on the fuzzy side, but the bee is the thing this time.

If you want to find out a little more about bumblebees click here. For a little more information about milkweed you can click here. I've also written several other posts about milkweed. You can search my site for those if you want to read them. I recommend that if you want a few really odd stories today.

You know, I originally walked over to get a few pictures of the milkweed plant, but I saw the bee when I got up close. It didn't fly away so I started taking pictures of it instead. I can't describe how surprised I was when it didn't immediately fly away, and then when it stayed for so long. This plant must have been very tasty.

I'll return tomorrow with more natural wonders. Who knows what I might find next time? Nature is an amazing thing.

20 comments:

  1. She is a beauty, great close-ups. The milkweed makes a perfect background for the shots.

    I have seen very few bumble bees this year and I'm not sure why. We have lots of honey bees and the small bees but hardly any of these.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great photos, Ratty, and the color of milkweed made them even more exceptional. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know how you felt that moment, and this feeling continues even until the time you are writing. You are my mirror now. Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those are great pictures! I love bumblebeees. They swarm my mom's herb garden throughout the summer and I love to see their fat little bodies all laden with pollen.

    Thanks for sharing!

    ~Jen

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great pics of the blossoms and bees! Bees aren't very cooperative but you've got their attention here. Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad you didn't get stung on your little adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great shots. The milkweed does indeed make a great background. I have the same problem with things not sitting still for me to get pictures so I know what a rare treat it is when something does

    ReplyDelete
  8. very excellent indeed, the contrast of the pink from milkweed and the dark color of bumblebee made the picture really so eye catching. love them.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You've done a spectacular job on these photos. Those hairy little bees actually look beautiful even though I'm a bit scared of them :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am so happy you finally got you bee...I know you were waiting to capture one with your camera.
    Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ahhhh, just wonderful photos!! I felt like I was right there!! You know where all the bees are? They seem to all be over here at my farm, yikes! They "got" one of my cats the other day, too....

    ReplyDelete
  12. Congratz Ratty, welcome to the flower-lover family. Nice details of the bumblebee :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great close ups Ratty!! I love watching those Bumblebees.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! These are gorgeous. This milkweed is pinker than mine. Mine looks more like the flowers in your subsequent post.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love milkweeds, There are a lot of different kinds. Very nice pix.

    ReplyDelete
  16. SquirrelQueen - I think your bumblebees are here visiting me.
    -

    Icy BC - Thanks. I was extremely lucky this time.
    -

    Rainfield - Yeah, it's a great feeling to get good shots of something like this.
    -

    JStantonChandler - Bumblebees are great. I almost made this one angry though.
    -

    EarthToHolly - Most bees fly away, but this one was having too much of a good time on the milkweed.
    -

    Kruel - That's the word I used when I saw that bee.
    -

    TeachInFourth - I'm glad too. I almost did though.
    -

    Ann - That's the hard part about animals, they never want to stay still.
    -

    Betchai - Thanks, I never expected the pictures to come out so well.
    -

    Poetic Shutterbug - I'm scared of them too. This one was beginning to get annoyed with me so I backed off.
    -

    The Retired One - Thanks, there are some more little critters like that that I'm after too.
    -

    WillOaks Studio - I bet your cat wasn't a bit happy. It's been a long time since I've been stung, but I remember that pain.
    -

    VanillaSeven - I'm appreciating flowers more every day.
    -

    Ginnymo - The bumblebees are great. I see them everywhere, even in the deep forest.
    -

    Elizabeth Barrette - I've seen many different kinds this year now.
    -

    Sharkbytes - I'm beginning to learn about the different kinds of milkweed, I see several different ones now.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love the bumble bee pictures. Especially the last. Bumble bees and other bees (honey, carpenter, etc) are one of my favorite photography subjects. I have largely gotten over a huge bee phobia by photographing them. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. DK Miller - I'm sure you could tell by my writing that I was very proud of these photos. I like that last one a lot too. I also take some of these pictures to get over fear.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Your shots are very great! It is really hard to take pictures of these kind of creatures, it's like they are very sensitive to anything. Lucky you!

    ReplyDelete