Bumblebee freeloader.

[Trent Watts]

After processing this Bumble bee that was foraging on my Beebalm flowers I noticed the small green aphid on its back.
I shot a few images in a row and it appeared that the bee used one of its legs to scrape the aphid off. It may be a completely different reason such as a ' bee yoga pose' why the leg is up on the back but I choose to believe it is getting rid of the freeloading aphid.

Notice the legs somehow positioned onto the bee's back. That is not a move I can make for sure.

And then the bee flew away.

 

[AlanLichty]

I think you had it right the first time - bumblers are regular practitioners of yoga of course

Great sequence and the last image reenforces the notion that by all laws of physics there is no reason why they are able to fly. Love the details.

 

[Trent Watts]

Thanks so much Alan.. It was a fun post to do.

 

[John Holbrook]

Amazing macro work Trent—love this series. Well done!

 

[Trent Watts]

Thanks John I really appreciate the comment.

 

[Kurt Harrigan]

Nice colors and background on these, Trent. What focal length were you using at the time?

 

[DES]

A great sequence.! I would also like to know a little bit about your macro system. And how did you keep the bee "posing" for you during the entire sequence?

Darrell

 

[Trent Watts]

Nice colors and background on these, Trent. What focal length were you using at the time?

Thanks Kurt... I use the OM-1 camera with the M. Zuiko 90mm. macro lens, flash and the CynusTech Diffuser.

 

[Trent Watts]

A great sequence.! I would also like to know a little bit about your macro system. And how did you keep the bee "posing" for you during the entire sequence?

Darrell

HI Thanks for the comment. It was fairly early morning and therefore cool out. The bee was going from flower to flower and I was on my belly in front of the flower. Because I'm using a flash and a diffuser I can use an f16 stop and get stop action. The OM-1 and the 90mm macro is a great system for macro work. Thanks for your interest.