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This is a Blue Banded Bee..I hadn't seen any before so when I spotted them in my backyard I took some photos hoping to identify them. I was surprisingly pleased with the results as they were hand held.

The second one is interesting, but I really love the action in the first, and the way the leaves frame the bee and flower.

These are outstanding

Unusual stuff at high quality, great shots!

Bindii - great shot !!!!
They are a beautiful bee huh? I love the way they sleep with their mandibles (mouthparts) firmly grasping a stem, while lifting their abdomen and back legs up .... I'll have to do some searching to find out why they do that !!!

Well done again
Rel

Cracker shots, both of them. Would nver have guessed they were hand held if you hadn't said. Well captured.

Regards
meicw

Nice shots Bindii. You've done well catching it mid air.

blacknstormy wrote:I'll have to do some searching to find out why they do that

Rel, That would be great if you could find out. Ever since I found some in my backyard I've been wondering why they sleep like that.

And is it true they prefer to sleep on plants with blue flowers?

excellent photo's bindii. i dont believe i've ever saw one of these before.
cheers pa

And is it true they prefer to sleep on plants with blue flowers?

Don't think so = I usually find them sleeping in my backyard on long grass stems - we have a whole patch of grass I don't mow, as we have double bar finches coming for the grass seed Basically, my backyard is a 'weed-a-corium'

blacknstormy wrote:Bindii - great shot !!!!
They are a beautiful bee huh? I love the way they sleep with their mandibles (mouthparts) firmly grasping a stem, while lifting their abdomen and back legs up .... I'll have to do some searching to find out why they do that !!!

Well done again
Rel

Thanks once again for everyones comments!

As to why they sleep with their mandables grasping the stem I asked a proffesor from one of the universities - I emailed him the pics when I first took them to have them identified..he bought them btw... - and he said that they think they dont seem to have a lot of grip with their feet so they use their mandables instead.
They seem to be interesting critters, they are supposed to prefer blue flowers but I at the time I had blue flowers in the garden yet they only went for the yellow ones. They are common, although these are the first I have seen, and at my place they sleep on the long fern stems..never flowers..

good stuff bindi

I really like the flight action in the first shot
but I like the details in the second also.

Steve

Wonderful shots Bindii. Especially the first and the new post. Cheers, Mick

Nice images Bindi. I like the last one with them all lined up on the stick
Jethro

Superb photos Bindii. You are an impiration. Your images are so sharp and have such lovely colours, and yet so natural looking. Congratulations!

Awesome... Stunning captures.

Awesome first image, good job for getting as close as you did.

Terrific images Bindii. Love that first one. You are really working that D200 combo now
cheers
marco

files gone??,, well i wanted to see too

blacknstormy wrote:Bindii - great shot !!!!
They are a beautiful bee huh? I love the way they sleep with their mandibles (mouthparts) firmly grasping a stem, while lifting their abdomen and back legs up .... I'll have to do some searching to find out why they do that !!!

Well done again
Rel

They don't have their eyes shut - how can they be asleep then?

Excedllent work there Bindii!

Cheers

Graham