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1/2000 • f/4.0 • 150.0 mm • ISO 200 •
OLYMPUS CORPORATION E-M1MarkIII
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro
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Bee-fly (Bombylius major) (+ PiP)


The first Bee-fly I've seen this year and of course I only had a 40-150mm zoom lens with me! This is a huge crop, but I'm quite pleased with it as a record shot.
Even shooting at 1/2000 sec, the wings are still blurred.
Better viewed large. There's another shot in the PiP if you have time to look.
Bee-flies (which are generally between 1 and 3cm long), can hover very efficiently, it holds itself to the flower with its spindly front legs and then feeds while buzzing in mid-air.
While feeding, the bee-fly's tongue gets covered in pollen, which it takes to the next flower in its search for nectar. The most distinctive feature of a bee-fly is its long proboscis, a bit like a butterfly's, except that it doesn’t curl away when not in use.
Even shooting at 1/2000 sec, the wings are still blurred.
Better viewed large. There's another shot in the PiP if you have time to look.
Bee-flies (which are generally between 1 and 3cm long), can hover very efficiently, it holds itself to the flower with its spindly front legs and then feeds while buzzing in mid-air.
While feeding, the bee-fly's tongue gets covered in pollen, which it takes to the next flower in its search for nectar. The most distinctive feature of a bee-fly is its long proboscis, a bit like a butterfly's, except that it doesn’t curl away when not in use.
trester88, Jean Paul Capdeville, Guydel, Frans Schols and 20 other people have particularly liked this photo
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Wish you a peaceful Easter.
Keith Burton club has replied to Annemarie clubPeaceful Easter
Keith Burton club has replied to Jaap van 't Veen clubKeith Burton club has replied to elvigiadelosamanecer… clubVery good and interesting information also. There is such a variety of bees and flies. I'm not too good at identifying them, but will look out for this one with the distinctive proboscis.
Have a great Easter weekend.
Keith Burton club has replied to Rosalyn HilborneIt's almost impossible to remember the names of all the bees and flies............the number of different special and sub species is almost infinite. I always remember this one though as its proboscis is pretty unique for a fly! Sometimes it gets called a "fluffy narwhal" :-)))
Enjoy the rest of the extended weekend.
Keith Burton club has replied to Stephan Fey clubWünsche noch einen schönen Nachmittag,ganz liebe Grüße Güni :))
Keith Burton club has replied to Günter Klaus clubI'm really pleased you like these photos. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Sorry to seem ignorant but is the Bee fly the same as a hover fly? I am afraid I am not good at identification and have not heard of a bee fly before.
Have a lovely Easter
Keith Burton club has replied to Ecobird clubBee-flies and Hover-flies are completely different..........and each has many different variations. I'm nowhere near and expert in either, but I remember the Bee-fly because of it's unusual proboscis.
Keith Burton club has replied to Ulrich John clubThe lens must be very versatile to capture fine close shots like these and produce such lovely bokeh, Keith
Thanks for the information because I am like others who have commented and not good on bee or fly identification
Keith Burton club has replied to Roger (Grisly) clubI'm guessing that not many people are really good at Bee and Fly identification..........the number of different species and sub species are almost infinite.
een supershot blau druifje plus bezoeker
Keith Burton club has replied to Fred Fouarge clubKeith Burton club has replied to Jenny McIntyre clubThe Bee-fly was new to me a few years ago, but once seen never forgotten :-).
Bee-flies have a neat little trick if they can't reach the pollen in a flower.............they simply use their proboscis to punch a hole through the bottom!
Keith Burton club has replied to Xata clubKeith Burton club has replied to Jean Paul Capdeville clubKeith Burton club has replied to trester88 clubSign-in to write a comment.