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| Bee on a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea Asteraceae) which blooms for us in late summer. |
Zachery Huang, a biologist who has been studying bees for over two decades is an amazing photographer whose stunning photos can be seen at
beetography.com. These are a few of his photos. I think bees are not only biologically amazing but beautiful as well, particularly when photographed on a colourful flower blossom.
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| Borage (Borago officinalis) also known as starflower is a slightly invasive herb (volunteer) which in our garden can bloom from spring to fall and is a bee favourite. |
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| Goldenrod (Solidago), considered invasive is a favourite of bees and blooms in late summer and fall. I have discovered that bees love invasive plants like goldenrod, mint, blackberry, fennel, lemon balm and black locust. |
Zachery has made available some of his best photos for your desktop wall paper at
beetography.com/Honey-Bees/Wall-Papers-Free/746084_m2dRrQ#266110048_NXto8. Some other good bee photography sites are
thehoneygatherers.com/html/index and
beedreams.com. This year I bought my first cheap digital camera and began taking photos of our bees. I have found that photography and in particular macro insect and flower photography forces you to slow down and look more closely at your environment. This is a good thing when you live in the hustle and bustle of a big city. My photos pale in comparison but Zachery's photos give me a goal to aspire to. Here are a few of my photos of bees and plants bees love.
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| The common asian aster which blooms in a mass of small flowers for us from August through October is a bee favourite. |
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| Pink phlox, (native to North America) possibly Phlox paniculata David. |
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| Japanese anemone blooms from late summer through the fall. In most areas food for bees is readily available in spring and summer so it is important to provide a food source for the bees in the early spring and autumn when there is less available food sources. |
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Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), native to the americas and a bee favourite.
One of my girls enjoying a sunflower
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One of our bees and a stranger to the left enjoying a rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) which is native to North America.
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Western bumble bee (Bombos occidentalis) harvesting pollen from a Japanese Anemone.
Obviously when shooting bees macro settings for those close-up shots are a must. Here are some macro photography tips from professional photographer Layne Kennedy of Ultimate Photo Guide ( ultimatephotoguide.com). Ultimate Photo Guide is a good site for learning about all aspects of photography.
High magnification macro photography by Thomas Shahan.
Insect Macro Photography
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For more examples of bee and plant photography go to the
Bee Plant pages of this website.
