Imogen's photos with the keyword: biene

A Honeybee on Perennial Basil plant - the pollen stored in this bee's leg sac (or pocket) is bright red in colour, which is unusual as pollen is usually white or shades of yellow. Another view can be seen in the picture within the inset.

The accepted opinion is Bees have a preference for blue flowers over other colours. I noticed this summer that the bees visited the white flowers of perennial Basil more than any others, even though the blue Salvia is right next to the Basil plant. As with anything in nature, the answer is usually more complex than we think.

Honey Bee visiting the first Bluebell to flower in Spring. The low angle of the sun in Spring allows for strong shadows. I thought the shadow of the flower looked quite interesting here.

Amegilla bombiformis, or Blue Banded Bee - one of the many native bees in Australia. Here the bee is gathering nectar on a Perennial Basil plant, which flowers for most of the year except winter and is a source of food for Honey Bees and Native Bees also. The Basil plant grows quite large (1.2metres) in a warm climate like Australia and I find it best to prune the plant in mid-summer to a more compact shape which also encourages more flowering on a bushier plant. Previously I used to cut the Basil plant down in middle of Autumn but since I notice it is the last plant with flowers in my garden for the Bees to gather food, I now wait till beginning of Winter before pruning the plant. In our climate the bees are still active until first cold temperatures !

At first glance this Honey Bee seems to have another set of eyes just behind the eyes on the head. Which is why I use the term shapeshifter (def: a living creature that can change it's physical form or appearance quickly). However the shiny segment that looks like an eye is probably the tibia of it's antennae cleaning leg. I cannot be certain even after careful examination close up......

Honey Bee on Cranesbill Rozanne - At the start of the day for the bee it's leg sacs are empty of pollen as seen here. The Bee will work methodically and patiently through the flowers to collect as much pollen and nectar to carry home to the hive. Going into 2019 we can all use these qualities of perseverance and patience in our daily endeavours.

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

At the Weimar Bee museum, Germany, there are various beehives devised by beekeepers since ancient times. This one is a recreation of the earliest type using a hollow tree log. In Nature bees usually create their hives in hollows in trees. Humans would have observed this and It didn't take much imagination to use tree stumps in the same way to keep bees. Easier than climbing a tree to get honey! The inset picture in the note shows the small entrance shaped out of a tree branch - this is to prevent predators getting at the bees or the honey. (The acrylic lid on the entrance is modern - no they didn't have acrylic plastic in ancient times!)

Honey Bee collecting nectar and pollen from a flower in the Weimar bee museum garden.

Native Australian Bee, Amegilla sp., or Blue Banded Bee flying to a Lavender in search of nectar. Its mouthparts are already dropped down in anticipation of finding nectar. The second picture in the insert clearly shows the blue bands on the Bee's body, hence the common name Blue Banded Bee. These native bees live individually in burrows in the ground, or between mortar in brick walls, not in hive communities. They lay eggs and hoard food stocks for the hatchlings emerging in the following Spring. Sensitive to temperature, the Amegilla bee only becomes active around end of October (mid-Spring) and are the first to disappear when it turns cold in Autumn. On cloudy cool days they do not fly or work, but stay at home in their burrow.

Blue Banded native bee lands on lavender flower. Its large mouthparts can be clearly seen siphoning from the flower. This bee hovers very often while it gathers nectar and is thus a good "buzz pollinator" for plants like tomatoes which are wind pollinated normally. Insects like this bee that buzz near a plant while feeding will facilitate pollination.

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.

A Megachile species Bee, resting on a leaf between foraging, or perhaps about to cut a piece of leaf out of this plant. Megachile is a solitary bee living alone in a hole in the ground or crevice in a tree. They do not form hive colonies nor store honey. Also called Leafcutter Bees as they cut neat round pieces out of plant leaves which they use as construction material in their nest. They are useful pollinators of alfalfa and other crops having been introduced to North America and Australia for this purpose.

A honey bee hovering at the entry to an Azalea flower. What is interesting is one can see the outline of the right-side wing quite clearly at the same time as the high speed blur of the wing motion. Also this female bee has clearly just begun her pollen gathering as there is not a lot of pollen stored in the leg sac which can be seen as a yellow blob on her hind leg.

This honey bee was as impressed with the pink asters as I was. I watched it travel from flower to flower for a long time, it seemed intent on visiting as many flowers as possible. Such tireless work bees do!

Two bees in Gallica Rose. Strolling through the garden at dusk I saw these two bees who were motionless and appeared to be resting or sleeping. Bees usually return to the hive each afternoon after their daily work is done. It is lovely to imagine these two bees spent the night in this glorious perfumed rose.