David
Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
__________________________________________________________
Hymenoptera 10 – Hairy-footed Flower Bees
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (m)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora plumipes (m)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (m)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (m)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (m)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (m)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (m)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (m)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (f)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes (f)
HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE Anthophora
plumipes
(f)
- The
sexually dimorphic and very active Hairy-footed
Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes
frequents spring-flowering labiates like Red Deadnettle Lamium
purpureum, White
Deadnettle L. album and Yellow Archangel L. galeobdolon. Other
flowers are also visited including Cowslip Primula veris. The diagnostic long hairs referred to
in the vernacular and specific names are very evident on the middle leg of
the male in the fourth photograph. One or more males will hover in
attendance whilst a female is feeding and a nuptial flight may then ensue
prior to eventual mating. The much shorter orange hairs on the hind legs
of the otherwise entirely black female are a very distinctive field
characteristic although the colour of the pollen basket will alter
according to the species of flower being visited. The male bee in the
third photograph was seen emerging from a burrow excavated into a soft red
brick wall. These (manually focussed) digital photographs were taken in
the field with a new Nikon
D300 and the results are far superior to those obtained
previously using transparency film. During recent years fellow wildlife
photographer Jeremy
Early has captured numerous excellent in-flight images of
hymenopterans and he has now added a new page to his website illustrating
his methods at: http://www.natureconservationimaging.com/Pages/nature_conservation_imaging_photographing_aculeates_in_flight.htm.
- David’s
short films of Hairy-footed Flower
Bees in action may be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtmUL0z49SE&list=PL4AirIEc0NocZVRSOwMCvHgyLtFUNk2gl&index=4&t=0s; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFamW0_kD8Y&list=PL4AirIEc0NocZVRSOwMCvHgyLtFUNk2gl&index=14&t=0s; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPGCKdk4TE0&list=PL4AirIEc0NocZVRSOwMCvHgyLtFUNk2gl&index=37&t=0s; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j28q3t9Bjj0&list=PL4AirIEc0NocZVRSOwMCvHgyLtFUNk2gl&index=42&t=0s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OizjJ7FEKs&list=PL4AirIEc0NocZVRSOwMCvHgyLtFUNk2gl&index=44&t=0s.
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