Earlier this summer bumble bees were going to our Hosta lily flowers, but curiously, not entering the flower. They were landing briefly on the outside. The likely reason was apparent upon tearing a flower apart. At the bottom of the flower close to the stem was a droplet of nectar. Because of the elongated narrow shape of the first part of the flower, bees could not reach the nectar from the inside of the flower. As shown in this picture, they landed on the outside and stuck their proboscis into the flower to reach the nectar. Taking the picture was not so easy. The bumble bees stayed only a few seconds on each flower they visited. Setting up and focusing on a flower would have required waiting for a bee to visit that flower, and I didn't like my chances. Therefore, I stood to the side and tried to aim at a bee on a flower as soon after the bee had landed as possible. This was taken with an RF 100 mm macro lens, f/16, 1/250 second, ISO 2000. This was taken from about seven feet and was substantially cropped. Out of about 150 shots I got a couple like this one that showed what was going on.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 7 comments posted
Stuart Caine
Very nice image. It is sharp and the color is great. The green background makes the Bee stand out. My only comment is that the the little spots on the Bees wing and body are they nectar ? If not they should be removed. Posted: 09/01/2021 12:11:27
Robert Schleif
(Group 78)
The spots are on the bees as multiple shots of the same bee showed the same spots. I thought they were pollen from visits to other types of flowers and to me, it seemed natural to retain them. After the spots discussion of my image last month, it looks like I had better not photograph any leopards. Posted: 09/02/2021 11:50:16
Stuart Caine
Those are big spots Posted: 09/03/2021 08:41:14
Michael Braunstein
Good capture. I would try to tone down the hot spots Posted: 09/02/2021 18:23:20
Dorinda Wills
(Group 30)
Thanks for the explanation about the bees. We have a lot of hostas and I had never noticed this. Your image tells the story well. I agree, some hotspots could be dealt with. I, too, assumed the small spots are pollen. They don't bother me in this image. The background is excellent, position of the bee and flower very pleasing as well.
Posted: 09/04/2021 15:17:40
Robert Schleif
(Group 78)
OK. Now I get it. Thank you. There are hotspots and pollen spots. I've removed the hotspots and I agree that this improves the image. Posted: 09/05/2021 13:43:17
Holly Moore
Very nice image. Background is very complimentary and the cropping is well done. I like the angle of the shot. You could consider addressing some of the hot spots. Posted: 09/13/2021 17:00:54
