enigma wrote:

Jim wrote:
[....]

these are not the kind of bees you put in hives. I was
within a couple of feet of them and still used the zoom on
my camera.

why? bumblebees are very laid back & passive. you can pick
them up if you do it slowly as not to startle them & they will
crawl on your hands.

good question as well as a good observation concerning
the character of this particular species of bee. they
are rather good natured and have exhibited the most
civilized mannerisms of all the different bee types I'm
familiar with.

a speculation on my part would be, maybe the honey
is not the most desirable?

'if' your why was more directed towards my having used the
zoom on the camera? the use had more to do with my desire
to obtain a clear close-up picture by working within the
constraints of the technical limits where the camera's ability
to focus is restricted by the movement of the subject matter
at distances of less then one foot. in other words, the wind
was blowing and the bush was moving and the bees were flying
in and out as well.

took me awhile to learn how to use that camera. my most recent
accomplishment was learning how to set the camera to capture a
picture of me using an arc welder. in my previous attempts, my
failure to understand aperture settings in conjunction with shutter
speeds had spoiled the outcome. setting a goal and then obtaining
it is often a rewarding experience.

another good pollinator bee is the Orchard bee. i have lots
of those around & one of my winter projects will be building
orchard bee condos (they live in little holes, so a chunk of
wood with a grid of holes hanging on a tree or the side of a
building near the gardens pleases them)
lee

each year during the summer, down at the barn, the boring
bees show up and bore the most perfectly round holes in
the rafters of the shelter. I don't think I could drill
a hole anymore perfectly round than they can. they look
in appearance just like the ones in the pictures I posted
the link towards and in no way resemble the species known
as the carpenter bee who gains the name as a result of their
boring in wood to create their homes.

best 2U Lee,
Jim