Out the front of my house is a large, beautiful, headily scented lavender bush. It sits aside a cotoneaster and a small green maple tree. Between them they provide a haven for insects who hover and drink, for a red breasted robin who flutters in to rest before continuing his quest for food and for my old cat, Megan, who lazily watches from her hide, surveys her patch and warns off other feline intruders.
This morning the bees were dancing from branch to branch, hovering over the small glossy leaves and the shiny red berries. Where they go when they have had their fill of the sweet nectar I don’t know. But this fuzzy fellow and his friends hung around long enough for us to have a good look at them before they went on their way.
And there he goes…..
…to have a buzzy time with his friends.
Bees, butterflies and other insects are vital in the bio-diversity of our gardens and countrysides. A small patch of ground left to its own devices can provide a haven to beneficial insects. Nettles (in the sunshine) will attract butterflies and a pile of broken pots or sticks can provide shelter for them.
For more information visit the National Insect Week website. 25th June 2012 marks the beginning of National Insect Week.
This post is part of the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge:Today
Nice photos, it’s hard to photograph bees! My wife loves bees and I’m sure that we’ll have a hive someday. I’ll have to find out more about National Insect Week !
Hi, thanks for you comment. Its quite hard to photograph anything with a toddler hanging on to you!
The wonderful Brigit Strawbridge tweeted this response to my bee pictures:
Brigit Strawbridge @BeeStrawbridge
@whatweatetoday What beautiful pics! Last one looks like White tailed bumblebee (B lucorum) female in foreground & male in background
I am thrilled!
Brigit Strawbridge @BeeStrawbridge
@whatweatetoday Common at this time of year to see males emerging.,,,easy to spot because most have little yellow moustaches
Brigit Strawbridge @BeeStrawbridge
@whatweatetoday You should start to see newly emerged queens too…
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Gorgeous pictures!
Thank you Christina, lovely to hear from you.
Great shots Natalie. What lens and settings did you use to photograph the “single” bee shot?
Mandy
I don’t have an SLR like you. I have a Sony Cybershot which is a halfway house between a digital and an SLR. I couldn’t afford and SLR and all its lenses! For this shot I think that I used one of the pre-set options. I didn’t have a lot of time to alter the settings! Glad you like the pictures Mandy. How are you getting on with your camera?
Nicely done. I captured a bee as well. I didn’t get quite the close up that you did, This bee I found was on a flowering plant towards the back of the garden area. http://designhouse9.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/scenes-from-lyndale-park/
Hi, thanks for your comment and welcome. I had to lean in close to get that one. I looked at your bee picture, it’s really lovely.
Thanks for your comment. You may be braver than I am. I don’t know how close I would have chosen to get if I had the opportunity!
They are pretty placid I find, unlike wasps which just seem to want to eat you!
We have a cotoneaster that’s at about the same stage of flowering as this and I noticed yesterday that ours is also very popular with the bees. Some great close ups there.