03 December 2013

Long-tongued bumblebee and foxglove

While the foxgloves still flower, the bumblebees make the most of the opportunity.

Four species of bumblebee were introduced to New Zealand, but one is found only in the South Island. Of the other three, one, Bombus terrestris, has a short tongue, meaning it's less effective at pollinating some types of flower. The bee in this photograph is one of the two long-tongued bumble bees (probably B. ruderatus — please correct me if I'm wrong).


[30 November 2013, Olympus OM-D EM-1, 60 mm f2.8 Macro , ISO 200, 1/1250 at f4]

All content © 2013 Pete McGregor
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6 comments:

  1. Elephant's Child3 December 2013 at 23:53

    Stunning photo. And a v buxy bee.

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  2. Relatively Retiring4 December 2013 at 00:38

    Wonderful - literally.

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  3. Barbara Butler McCoy4 December 2013 at 01:23

    Sensational! You have quite the eye ;0 I love color, so that foxglove is amazing. Love the Bombus, too.

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  4. Brenda Schmidt4 December 2013 at 07:29

    Just gorgeous!

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  5. Zhoen4 December 2013 at 15:37

    The world at that scale is a fuzzy, spiky place.

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  6. pohanginapete4 December 2013 at 22:09

    Thank you for the comments, everyone — and thanks for appreciating this small world, which can be so easily overlooked.
    :^)

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Constructive criticism is welcomed (I particularly appreciate thoughts on what you like and don't like), but please keep it courteous.