Carpenter Bees

 

Okay, the title is Carpenter Bees but first I’ve got a photo of a bumblebee that I need to use up.

 

This starts the carpenter bees.  Now I say bees plural but it could be these are all the same bee, I’m not really sure.  They are all on a butterfly bush in my backyard.

I’ve since gotten rid of the bush because the flowers are too small for my liking.  I’ll be looking for a new butterfly bush this spring.  (I this post this a few weeks ago and know I’m thinking it will be summer before I can go shopping for a new bush.)  Anyway, this particular bush seemed to attract carpenter bees more than any other insect and I’m not sure why.

 

I find carpenter bees and bumblebees a couple of the hardest insects to photograph.  Their size makes them easier to fill the photo frame with much less cropping than other insects, and that’s a good thing.  However, the overriding bad thing, at least for me, is their coal black head and abdomen.  I find it just too hard to get a good exposure showing the details of the head and abdomen without overexposing everything else.

 

 

 

 

 

Having looked at all the photos again I’m still not sure if it’s more than one carpenter bee or just one.  If I were going to have to put money on it I would bet it’s one or the other … and that I’m sure of.

 

Thank you for stopping by.

David

All photos taken with a Nikon D7100 and a Sigma 105mm macro lens.