Perhaps @wild edges will see this today @Guernsey Donkey2. That 2nd pic is really beautiful. I'm sometimes tempted to buy another camera which has a good macro feature. Mine isn't good for closeups. I couldn't help smiling at this pic I took the other day of this young chaffinch. They always look as if they haven't a clue what they're doing.
'Right - I've got into this contraption. Now what?'
'Shift your fat a**e and I'll show you mate'
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
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wild edgesThe north west of south east WalesPosts: 5,511
They always look as if they haven't a clue what they're doing.
That's what I look like most all of the time
@Guernsey Donkey2 The one with the red tail is a bilberry bumblebee (bombus monticola), the red goes higher up the tail than the very similar male red tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius). Not a clue on the other one sorry. It's hard enough to ID that type when they show the proper colours but I'm totally lost on the morphs.
They always look as if they haven't a clue what they're doing.
That's what I look like most all of the time
What - a face like a well skelped a**e? He's getting the hang of it now. The juvie goldies are keeping him right. I have almost zero knowledge of bee species, but I love watching them all, which is a huge pleasure. I should probably get a specialist book or summat and spend some time perusing
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
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wild edgesThe north west of south east WalesPosts: 5,511
OK riddle me this: What bee species is this? It's definitely a bumblebee and a female (you can see the pollen basket on the hind leg) but it has a white tail and a white band where you'd expect the yellow band to be. My only guess is that it's a colour morph of some kind.
I posted this a few weeks ago and still haven't answered the question but I have found another interesting bee with white banding where it should be bright yellow. This is a bilberry bumblebee on the clover I've been growing in my lawn. The two bands on the abdomen should both be yellow.
Quoted myself twice here but never mind I finally found out the answer to this question via the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. I emailed them the photos and they sent a reply saying that colour in bumblebees is affected by the sun so the very hot summer we had last year has given these bees blond highlights. The bee with the red tail is a male and as such doesn't spend any time back in the nest so is more prone to sun bleaching than female workers. Mystery solved
Two baby owls parked in a tree at the top of our garden. These were taken at 9.30am about two weeks ago. They are still around, we hear them squeaking to their parents for food most nights.
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I couldn't help smiling at this pic I took the other day of this young chaffinch. They always look as if they haven't a clue what they're doing.
'Right - I've got into this contraption. Now what?'
'Shift your fat a**e and I'll show you mate'
He's getting the hang of it now. The juvie goldies are keeping him right.
I have almost zero knowledge of bee species, but I love watching them all, which is a huge pleasure. I should probably get a specialist book or summat and spend some time perusing
They are still around, we hear them squeaking to their parents for food most nights.