A honey-bee in October?

[WillowBelle]

I went outside to try to photograph the last flower in our yard. Imagine my surprise when I found a honey-bee sniffing around! I live in middle Tennessee, it's gotten COLD already this year. Can't believe this little guy is still hanging around.

I (obviously) edited the photo in Topaz. I know this is quite extreme for some of you who tinker with this program, I liked the end result though (for this subject).

 

[spinetnglr]

I went outside to try to photograph the last flower in our yard. Imagine my surprise when I found a honey-bee sniffing around! I live in middle Tennessee, it's gotten COLD already this year. Can't believe this little guy is still hanging around.

I (obviously) edited the photo in Topaz. I know this is quite extreme for some of you who tinker with this program, I liked the end result though (for this subject).

I live in Pennsylvania and its not unusual to see honey bees even in the winter. I used to have hives and I can tell you they do not leave the just go kind of dormant in their hives when the weather gets cold. If you get a warm day and the sun warms the inside of the hive enough they will venture out to take a waxy little pooh On a warmish kind of winter day I used to find waxy little yellow spots all over my cars.

Nice picture by the way ... I'm usually not a fan of pictures processed like this but I think you did a nice job with it and it works.

 

[Marlton Mom]

I LOVE your picture!!! It has a very nice feel to it. Thanks for sharing!

Smoochies,
Marlton Mom

 

[WillowBelle]

I live in Pennsylvania and its not unusual to see honey bees even in the winter. I used to have hives and I can tell you they do not leave the just go kind of dormant in their hives when the weather gets cold. If you get a warm day and the sun warms the inside of the hive enough they will venture out to take a waxy little pooh On a warmish kind of winter day I used to find waxy little yellow spots all over my cars.

Nice picture by the way ... I'm usually not a fan of pictures processed like this but I think you did a nice job with it and it works.

Thanks for the lesson. Question - they say the honeybee is starting to disappear. If they aren't migratory insects and just go dormant, do you have an idea of where they are going? I think I maybe knew that they went dormant but forgot.

I LOVE your picture!!! It has a very nice feel to it. Thanks for sharing!

Smoochies,
Marlton Mom

Thank you. I'm trying to experiment a bit more with those plug-ins. I think sometimes it works to be a bit heavy handed in the process.

 

[spinetnglr]

Thanks for the lesson. Question - they say the honeybee is starting to disappear. If they aren't migratory insects and just go dormant, do you have an idea of where they are going? I think I maybe knew that they went dormant but forgot.



Thank you. I'm trying to experiment a bit more with those plug-ins. I think sometimes it works to be a bit heavy handed in the process.

There is some disagreement as to why there has been such a dramatic decrease in the bee colony population. There is a parasite that infects hives but also pesticides used on crops in the pollination stage is also killing off lots of bees because they injest the chemicals when collecting the pollen and nectar. Commercial crop growers like orange groves in the south hire beekeepers with large numbers of domestic hives to bring their hives to their orchards to pollinate the blossoms and ensure a more successful harvest. This summer my brother had a huge big oak tree fall which contained a large honeybee colony. I had him contact the local Beekeepers Society and they sent someone out to collect the hive and save it. I have a gallery of pictures here taken while they were trying to gather them if you are interested in seeing them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14910485@N06/sets/72157621859923861/ They were successful in getting most of the hive into the box and preserving them.

 

[jann1033]

i thought this was an interesting article from a few yrs ago. nothing to do with wdw but at least it's on topic
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20070613/Feature1.asp

 

[My2Girls66]

There is some disagreement as to why there has been such a dramatic decrease in the bee colony population. There is a parasite that infects hives but also pesticides used on crops in the pollination stage is also killing off lots of bees because they injest the chemicals when collecting the pollen and nectar. Commercial crop growers like orange groves in the south hire beekeepers with large numbers of domestic hives to bring their hives to their orchards to pollinate the blossoms and ensure a more successful harvest. This summer my brother had a huge big oak tree fall which contained a large honeybee colony. I had him contact the local Beekeepers Society and they sent someone out to collect the hive and save it. I have a gallery of pictures here taken while they were trying to gather them if you are interested in seeing them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14910485@N06/sets/72157621859923861/ They were successful in getting most of the hive into the box and preserving them.

Cool! Very nice save, Karyl We need honeybees
That looks like one huge nest!

 

[ThurlFan]

Cool image, I like the effect. It's actually not a honeybee; I think you've captured a fly of the family Syrphidae (or perhaps a close relative). Many of them are fly/wasp/yellowjacket mimics.

http://www.pbase.com/rcm1840/familysyrphidae

Thanks for sharing!

 

[dburg30]

Yea, doesnt look plain enough or 'fuzzy' enough IMO to be a honey bee. I think those are the same things that have found a way into one of our upstairs extra rooms (the one my wife uses to get ready in the AM). They are HARD to get rid of, and she literally has squished 100's of them. We kinda have a mass grave of them in a trash can to see how many we have when all said and done. I need some COLD weather to help get rid of them, I just hope they arent in a nice cozy warm spot in our attic. Dont know if we'll ever get rid of them if that' the case!! And they arent real friendly either..

Oh yea... Cool pic either way!

 

[WillowBelle]

Never in my dreams did I think I'd learn so much about bees when posting this picture . What an interesting conversation starter. Thanks for all the links and input!