BIF: Bees in Flight

DLeeT wrote in post #18662622

Wow, those are good. What is your secret?

Yes, I'd like to know what rig you are using. Nice work.

Archibald wrote in post #18662660
Wow, those are good. What is your secret?

Thank you. No secrets. Patience and persistence ... or perhaps, it's stubbornness and stupidity. They really aren't difficult to catch when they are doing a lot of hovering like these guys were. I ususally use manual focus, pre-focus on the flower and then it's just a minor adjusment to catch the bee. Having said that, my keeper rate is VERY low.

Naturalist wrote in post #18662713
Yes, I'd like to know what rig you are using. Nice work.

Thanks Doug. I'm new to the forum. The metadata apparently didn't load from Flickr. I tried to edit the metadata, but it didn't have my lens - or I couldn't find it.

The shots were taken with a Nikon D7200 and Tokina 100 mm Macro. Lee

Testing to see if EXIF added - and another bee shot...

IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com …542/in/datepost​ed-public/

_DRX3708-Edit-9

Great captures, did an image check for you but it just report no EXIF found.

Lester Wareham wrote in post #18663257
Great captures, did an image check for you but it just report no EXIF found.

Thank you Lester. My fault. I now know one must keep a Flickr image public or it will disappear from this forum. The lens data base does not have my Tokina (or I can't find it) so I guess that is why it still shows Edit Metadata. Still learning! Lee

Lovely action shots. Covered in pollen, alright!

hayath wrote in post #18663741
Lovely action shots. Covered in pollen, alright!

Thanks. In all the shots, you can see the pollen basket. The below quote applies to the bumblebee, but applies to all bees. Probably more than you want to know.

"One of the really neat things I learned about bumblebees is that they actually have a special structure just for cleaning their antennae. Located on their front legs is a special notch. The inside curve of this notch is lined with a fringe of hairs that work like a comb. Have you ever watched a beetle, ant or bee wash itself? It will draw its antennae through this notch, and the comb-like hairs brush off pollen and any other debris that might be there. Pretty nifty.

Meanwhile, the middle legs are also equipped with brush- (or comb-) like hairs. These are run over the body, scraping off the collected pollen. From here the pollen is transferred to the pollen presses located on the hind legs.

At this point we have to take a good look at those back legs. Just like us, the bee’s legs have a tibia, which is the lower leg (think of your calf). On bumble bees the tibia is flat, somewhat convex, shiny and surrounded by hairs, some of which are rather long and stiff. This forms what is called the pollen basket. Located at the lower end of the tibia (think of your ankle) is a comb-like structure, and on the metatarsus (think of your heel or foot) is the press. These two structures work together kind of like levers.

So, the pollen (which has been moistened with nectar to make it sticky) is transferred to the press and the bee manipulates the press and comb to press the pollen onto the bottom part of the flattened tibia. Each new batch of pollen is pressed onto the bottom of the basket, pushing the previous batches further up. When the basket is full, it will bulge with upwards of one million grains of pollen. The hairs that surround the tibia hold the pollen in place while the bee flies from place to place, either collecting more pollen, drinking nectar, or flying back home to stock the nest with this carefully gathered food, which is what her offspring will eat when they hatch."

Nicely done

Crimzon wrote in post #18664313
Nicely done

Thank you kindly. Lee