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Bumblebee | by Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel
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Bumblebee

Lovely little guys, bumblebees have been absolutely everywhere this week in England! They especially like the rhododendron flowers that are amazingly still out (about a month later than usual because of the very cold spring we've had) but this one was feeding on borrage, which is a blue-purple flowering weed that seems to do very well in the pond section part of the garden that is under my management (rather than my wife, who clears these!).

 

There's much to be said for letting part of your garden just go a little wild because it brings in all sorts of insects that probably wouldn't otherwise be there. One of the best plants I know of for seeing insects on is actually rough nettle patches, which can be found just about everywhere. Wear some long trousers and take a long bamboo cane along to prod the stalks though if you're going to look through these. It is well known that bumblebees are in decline and need a little boost, and every little helps.

 

Sadly, I've also seen quite a few of these sitting in flowerheads without moving much. I asked an expert and it turns out that this is due to the colder windy weather that we've had - bumblebees don't react well to the heat loss because of wind so don't always fly on if they're caught out in the cold, and many perish.

 

Single shot with Raynox 250, 150 & af160fc ringflash.

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Taken on June 16, 2013