Imogen's photos with the keyword: blue

Carpenter Bee, on Ceratostigma or Leadwort flower. One of the largest bee species commonly seen in gardens.

Blue banded bee, Amegilla, a native bee of Australia collecting nectar from a Salvia flower. The bee has learnt that it is easier to get to the pollen by punching a hole through the base of the flower rather than fighting its way up the funnel of the flower. Sadly it means the flower misses out on having its pollen dispersed by the bee.

Australian native bee, Amegilla or Blue Banded Bee flying towards Salvia Uliginosa. This true blue Salvia lures insects like a magnet, including most bees.

A native Australian bee, Amegilla, employs stealth to gain access to the nectar in this flower by going directly to the base of the flower calyx. She makes a small hole with her sharp mouthpiece through the wall of the flower to get to the nectar. The bee saves time doing this and not using the normal method of exploring the flower trumpet. The negative side to this is pollination of flowers is diminished as the bee tends not to transfer pollen between flowers.

Australian native bee, Amegilla Cingulata (Blue Banded Bee) on Salvia flower. This native bee of Australia does not live in a communal hive like the honey bee. Each female makes her own single nest in a burrow in the ground or sometimes in a wall cavity or such like, where she lays her eggs. However, groups of these bees often make their nests in close proximity to each other in a pseudo community. Individual Amegilla live just one season each before dying off in winter. In Spring the eggs hatch and the life cycle carries on once more. Salvia as a group of plants provide a long season of nourishment for native and other bees in Australia and other similar climates.

Delphinium Elatum seed pod development. All the world is a hustle bustle, and all the while Nature quietly procreates to ensure survival. This Delphinium is in a hurry, producing seed pods while the florets are still in full bloom. The summer has been dry in Australia this year, with little rain in six months. Some plants seem to sense this in advance and grow and seed quickly in an attempt to give their offspring a head start.