Jump to content

  • Chat
  •  
  •  

Welcome to Formiculture.com!

This is a website for anyone interested in Myrmecology and all aspects of finding, keeping, and studying ants. The site and forum are free to use. Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation points to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!

Photo

Bee Photography Thread


171 replies to this topic

#61 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 7 2021 - 7:17 PM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

Stunning!
That first one looks like Osmia lignaria, but it is kind of late in the year for them to be active. You are further north, though.

Thanks! iNaturalist did pull that species up but the abdomen (gaster?) of the bee in the shot seemed smaller than the ones shown for Osmia lignaria. 



#62 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 8 2021 - 3:03 AM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA
I’ll send your photo to Sam Droege to see what he thinks.
  • ConcordAntman likes this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#63 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 8 2021 - 3:53 AM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA
Quick reply: it is Osmia, but definitely not lignaria. Could be several species.
Edit: drill some holes in logs, or put out bundles of bamboo stems and these will set up nests in your yard.

Edited by ANTdrew, July 8 2021 - 4:01 AM.

"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#64 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 8 2021 - 4:11 AM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

Will do! We had a Mason Bee hotel nailed to our garage wall for years. 



#65 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 8 2021 - 6:13 AM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA
I set your Osmia photo as my phone wallpaper.
  • ConcordAntman likes this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#66 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted July 8 2021 - 6:29 AM

Kaelwizard

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 2,852 posts
  • LocationPoway, California
Quick ConcordAntman, start charging for them!
  • ConcordAntman and ANTdrew like this

#67 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 8 2021 - 7:31 AM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA

Quick ConcordAntman, start charging for them!

Yup!
  • ConcordAntman likes this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#68 Offline Daniel - Posted July 8 2021 - 7:54 AM

Daniel

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 74 posts
  • LocationFort Mohave, Arizona
I agree with ANTdrew, stunning! That Osmia photo really warms my heart. Thank you for sharing these photos, this has become my favorite thread on the site.
  • ConcordAntman and ANTdrew like this

#69 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 8 2021 - 11:20 AM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

:blush: Thanks, I find it fun! I’m still pretty new at it. 



#70 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 9 2021 - 9:56 AM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA

These photos are rather bush league compared to ConcordAntsman, but this has to be one of the wackiest creatures on earth: Hermaris thysbe. It has the mouth of a butterfly, the body of a bee, and the tail of a lobster.

 

IMG 0208
 
GIF showing the hover action:
IMG 0194

 

The plant is Monarda fistulosa.


  • ConcordAntman, TestSubjectOne, antsandmore and 2 others like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#71 Offline Antkeeper01 - Posted July 9 2021 - 12:43 PM

Antkeeper01

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,392 posts
  • LocationA random state in the US

These photos are rather bush league compared to ConcordAntsman, but this has to be one of the wackiest creatures on earth: Hermaris thysbe. It has the mouth of a butterfly, the body of a bee, and the tail of a lobster.

 

 
 
GIF showing the hover action:
 

 

The plant is Monarda fistulosa.

i saw one of those in wisconsin it really is a wonder of nature


  • ConcordAntman and ANTdrew like this

1X Pogonomyrmex occidentalis 40-50 Workers

1X Solenopsis molesta 10 Workers (mono)

Ants I Want: Crematogaster sp, Camponotus Sp., Ponera Pennsylvanica, Mymercocystus sp.

 

My Youtube channel: https://www.youtube....kUjx-dPFMyVqOLw

 

 Join Our Fledgling Discord Server https://discord.com/...089056687423489


#72 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 10 2021 - 3:57 AM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

That was a great GIF ANTDrew! Hummingbird moths. In August 2019 over the course if a week, I was able to see two species of them 170 miles apart and I’d never seen one before! This was my first sighting in the gardens of the Crane Estate Ipswich, MA. At first I thought it was the biggest bee I'd ever seen but once I saw the wings, the tail, and the tongue, I was flummoxed! A small, fuzzy, flying lobster-like bee with a butterfly’s mouthparts  :o Pardon the graininess, in 2019 I hadn’t yet grasped the subtleties of ISO and noise. This is Hemaris diffinis

E9229517 8479 48DD 8276 4B2E2123CC03
 
 
This was Hemaris thysbe 8 days later in Great Barrington, MA. 
5739D03F F5B7 44D9 A72A 94CF1877766D

 

Just look at that tongue! 

874F3029 0D2B 429C 8B69 82D6E4591565

 
 
This sure is one weird and amazing bug!
FEB9D64C E3F3 4338 A389 4D35F602AE80

 

 


Edited by ConcordAntman, July 10 2021 - 6:47 AM.

  • ANTdrew, Antkeeper01, DaAnt and 1 other like this

#73 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 21 2021 - 5:37 AM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

We’ve had torrential rain which has just lifted so I got some more shots. I’m not sure on the ID’s of the bees or some of the flowers. I know this is a variety of Hosta but the bumblebee is either a Bombus vagans or Bombus bimaculatus. I’m leaning towards vagans as it was kinda smallish. I like the glistening wings and the grains of pollen. 
 

FD460815 8CF8 4F56 B955 75243CE476A7

 

Here’s the same Bombus vagans or Bombus bimaculatus conundrum. This time hovering by a Bleedinghearts (Dicentra) blossom. 
 

25CAFCA2 D269 4E01 BABA E4E9B332C3CC

 

I think this is Bombus vagans approaching a Common Cornsalad (Valerianella locusta) blossom.

 

806898FA 9FD2 453A B6B6 7BF12BD778A3
 
 
Finally a head shot of B. vagans on Valerianella locusta.
 
1FBAAB53 3DD7 43D8 B04F 5A7B84223462

 

 


  • ANTdrew and 100lols like this

#74 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 21 2021 - 9:25 AM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA
Melissodes bimaculatus and Bombus pennsylvanicus on Monarda.

Attached Images

  • 3B39D610-8A3E-423E-BE2D-A7B52AB6F1A5.jpeg
  • 6C21745F-A99B-48A0-931D-FE91709A60DA.jpeg

  • ConcordAntman, TestSubjectOne and 100lols like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#75 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 22 2021 - 4:21 AM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

Still working on bees in flight. A good autofocus system is mandatory but I still haven’t nailed the shutter speed. 1/1250th second is still too slow! I’m pretty sure this is B. impatiens in and amongst our Hostas. I’m becoming suspicious of iNaturalist (and it’s a National Geographic product) as an identification tool. It suggested this was a Digger Bee  :thinking:

 
AF1C7824 F022 4820 A51C A9B0491B3B2B
 
 
 

 

C790AC0E FEF9 421D AFD7 0A21242C4C9C
 
 
The wings are just visible as a blur here but I like the contrast of the bee against the green of the Hosta’s leaves and the light purple of its blossom.
 
9EE3AD74 F969 4C95 9324 069412959859

  • ANTdrew, Antkeeper01 and 100lols like this

#76 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 22 2021 - 6:08 AM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA
If that’s a digger bee, then I’m the Prince of Persia!
  • ConcordAntman and Antkeeper01 like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#77 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 22 2021 - 6:27 AM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

I’ve got a field guide and I'm using the BeeWatch identification guide but I still find B. impatiens, B. vagans, and B. bimaculatus hard to differentiate.  


  • Antkeeper01 likes this

#78 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 25 2021 - 8:17 PM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

I’d just finished tending and photographing my ants when I stepped outside with my camera only to find this flitting in and out of our Hosta blossoms. Notice the white patch on its tergite and the bright yellow tibial hairs. This is a Two-spotted Longhorn bee (Melissodes bimaculatus). 
 

138B9E44 CFB5 40AE BC81 6C5246F3D9E8
 
 
It’s got huge mandibles. It looks like it’s going to bite off the anther of this Hosta. 
 
9DD6CC53 81EF 447F 8E7E C8DA13935E1D
 
 
This might be the best shot I’ve gotten of a Two-spotted Bumblebee (Bombus bimaculatus) in the Hostas (clearly a popular hangout). 
 
078A84F9 F945 4B0A BDB8 9688E7D77B91
 
 
I captured this Umbrella Paper Wasp (Polistes genus) hovering in the Bleeding Hearts. 
 
1187FB83 4478 4E1A B623 6DC7CAF95503
 
 
Finally, cooperative foraging between a Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) and a Western Honey bee (Apis melifera) in Tropical Bushmint (Hyptis mutabilis). 
 
2CF2508A A566 4520 9742 5805214F2E9C

 


Edited by ConcordAntman, July 26 2021 - 3:45 AM.

  • ANTdrew, TestSubjectOne, Antkeeper01 and 1 other like this

#79 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 26 2021 - 3:15 AM

ANTdrew

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 9,376 posts
  • LocationAlexandria, VA
I love it! Those Melissodes have been very abundant in my yard.
  • ConcordAntman and Antkeeper01 like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#80 Offline ConcordAntman - Posted July 26 2021 - 3:27 AM

ConcordAntman

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 757 posts
  • LocationMassachusetts

Their bright yellow tibial hairs are striking! They’re such fast and erratic flyers that it’s almost impossible to catch them on the wing. 






0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users