You regular readers might remember that my first post this year was a hard-earned, although slightly out-of-focus, photo of a Blue Banded Bee. Even though it wasn’t the best photo I have ever taken it was the best one I had ever taken of this elusive creature.
That was until yesterday. In the afternoon I was doing the dishes and, as I looked out of the kitchen window, I noticed one hovering around the tomato plant on the back verandah. Naturally I abandoned the dishes and ran for my camera.
I got a few shots that I was more than happy with, and will probably post about later, but of course now I had left the dishes ‘to soak’ I decided to have a wander around the garden with my camera for a while.
It had been quite a hot day which meant when it started cooling down all the insects came out and tried to cram a whole days effort into a few hours.
When I wandered past the lavender out the front I spotted another Blue Banded Bee busily tasting the flowers and I think everyone in the street might have heard the “Woo Hoo!” when I got this shot.
This time you don’t have to believe me about the blue stripes, this guy clearly has the stripy bum they are named for!
That lavender tastes delicious!
That’s an absolutely fantastic shot Metan. Any professional would be proud of that. Worthy of a calendar.
Thank you! I didn’t even realize he had his tongue sticking out until I went back and looked at the photo later. When they saw it the kids cracked up laughing at the thought of flying around with your giant tongue out the front
wow!
Thanks
Love the picture, amazing!
I was VERY happy with that photo, that’s for sure!
While my camera is good, hubby has the one with the ‘paparazzi’ feature I’d love, for pictures like these. Ie, hold the shutter and it goes nuts with the pictures. (Very technical of my I know)
I love my camera. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I still have my old camera though and I feel sad that I still don’t use it. It is old and only 4MP and only focuses on what it wants to but once we worked each other out it took amazing photos.
Congratulations, that is a winning photo and a great accomplishment
I have never seen nor heard of a bee with a blue striped bum… if you could persuade those candy stripe legged katydids and the blue banded bees to appear together, you’d have quite a cabaret 
Thank you very much!
You may well have these bees up at TA, they sound just like blowies and never stay still, the first time I noticed one was entirely by accident and the family have only ever seen them in my photos because they don’t have the patience to actually look for one!
Apparently they love tomatoes and I have been up the back this morning staking my patch of them and one was up there hanging around.
I can just imagine the katydids and the blue bum bees and a christmas beetle hanging around together. A technicolor garden!
-giggles- I would never have doubted you Metan but… this little guy definitely looks blue-er? Fantastic shot, especially given how small and elusive they are. Maybe fate is rewarding you for all those years of frustration.
Thanks, I was hugely pleased with this shot and I was glad that he had a bluer bum than the last guy. You can see his green eye and orange-y fur too, phew!
Now the tomatoes are in full flower they are all over the place. Unfortunately, the only time they land on the tomato flowers they quickly curl up into a tight ball for an instant then zoom off, so all they look like is a butcher boy hanging on a flower!
lol – But you have your shot! Can’t ask for more than that.
Certainly can’t!
Great shot! I wonder if you have a nest of them nearby.
Thank you
These guys are solitary and don’t live in hives, so that makes seeing a few of them at once even more exciting!
That’s cool! You know your bees! I know they are an Aussie native, but not much else.
Woo Hoo!
Woo Hoo indeed!