Bumblicious


It's not often that mine and NAH's interests collide, but I had to show you this amazing picture of the bee Halictus ligatus from his car magazine of all things.

The bee is 7-10mm and the picture is a composite of many photos taken with a macro lens which are then stitched together as only part of the bee is in focus at any one time at this magnification.

The photographer is Sam Droege, an American biologist. He used a camera system originally devised by the US army to help soldiers identify biting insects such as mosquitoes.

This picture forms part of the Bee Inventory and Monitoring Program at the US Geological Survey. The link takes you through to more of Droege's amazing images. You'll find the above picture on Page 2 of the appropriately named Eye Candy set of photos.

Comments

  1. It looks amazing, is that pollen stuck to it?

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    Replies
    1. Yes it is - it's an astonishing photo :)

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  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. The images in that collection are amazing! Thanks for the heads-up.

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  4. Wow, stunning. It's wonderful to see such amazing detail.

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  5. I like bees but find this photograph seriously weird. This composite bee looks very dead and anciently mummified. I expect I'll be out-numbered on this but although I like precision, I think I'd prefer it spread between photos and put up with blurs in between.

    Happy Easter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you had a good Easter too Lucy!

      Having spent hours peering at various bits of invertebrates under the microscope, I really appreciate something which shows all the details and the complete animal.

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