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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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macro
insect
close up
Bombylius major
telemacro
Keith Burton
Bee-Fly


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Bee-fly (Bombylius major) (+ PiP)

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.

trester88, Jean Paul Capdeville, Guydel, Frans Schols and 20 other people have particularly liked this photo


28 comments - The latest ones
 Annemarie
Annemarie club
wonderful image Keith
Wish you a peaceful Easter.
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Annemarie club
Thanks very much Annemarie.
17 months ago.
 Jaap van 't Veen
Jaap van 't Veen club
Awesome close-up Keith.
Peaceful Easter
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Jaap van 't Veen club
Thank you Jaap.
17 months ago.
 elvigiadelosamaneceres.com
elvigiadelosamanecer… club
Espectacular.
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to elvigiadelosamanecer… club
Thank you kind sir.
17 months ago.
 Rosalyn Hilborne
Rosalyn Hilborne club
You have captured it beautifully Keith. You must have a good steady hand! The PiP is superb.
Very 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.
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Rosalyn Hilborne club
Thanks very much Rosa.............I was greatly helped by the in-camera image stabilisation, which is a wonderful thing, especially as I get older and more doddery :-))

It'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.
17 months ago.
 Stephan Fey
Stephan Fey club
They look so cute and furry!
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Stephan Fey club
They do indeed Stephan..........glad you like it.
17 months ago.
 Günter Klaus
Günter Klaus club
Dein Tele hat für ein wunderschönes Bokeh gesorgt lieber Keith und diese blauen Traubenhyazinthensind mit ihrer Farbe ja auch immer Hingucker,sehr schön hast du das mit deinen Tele umgesetzt und sehr schöne Nahaufnahmen gemacht :))

Wünsche noch einen schönen Nachmittag,ganz liebe Grüße Güni :))
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Günter Klaus club
Thanks Güni............using a telephoto lens was not ideal, but this particular one has superb definition and my camera has good image-stabilisation........so I got away with it, this time.

I'm really pleased you like these photos. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
17 months ago.
 Ecobird
Ecobird club
A beautiful close up shot Keith. Love colours and you can actually see the vibration of the wings.
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
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Ecobird club
Thank you for your kind comments Carol............much appreciated.

Bee-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.
17 months ago.
 Ulrich John
Ulrich John club
The blue is wonderful, Keith ! A very nice macro !
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Ulrich John club
Thank you very much Ulrich.
17 months ago.
 Roger (Grisly)
Roger (Grisly) club
Great colours and extraordinary detail, especially when viewed large,
The 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
17 months ago. Edited 17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Roger (Grisly) club
Thanks very much Roger............this particular lens is brilliant and the in-camera stabilisation helps too, especially now I'm getting a bit doddery :-)))

I'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.
17 months ago.
 Fred Fouarge
Fred Fouarge club
schitterende makro keith
een supershot blau druifje plus bezoeker
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Fred Fouarge club
Glad you like it Fred...........thank you so much.
17 months ago.
 Jenny McIntyre
Jenny McIntyre club
Fantastic PiP - you can really see its long tongue and even the wings do still look blurred, they must be going so fast anyway. I've never heard of a bee-fly before and maybe I've seen one, not knowing what it was. The detail of the grape hyacinth is great - so hopefully there was some nectar there for it to pass on to the next flower
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Jenny McIntyre club
Thanks for your lovely comments Jenny..................always appreciated.

The 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!
17 months ago.
 Xata
Xata club
The right moment! My fave for the PIP +++++++++++
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Xata club
Thanks Isabel. I saw two more in the garden today, but despite the sunshine it's a bit too windy for macro photography. I'm sure they'll be around for a while.
17 months ago.
 Jean Paul Capdeville
Jean Paul Capdeville club
Magnifique
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to Jean Paul Capdeville club
Many thanks Jean Paul.
17 months ago.
 trester88
trester88 club
Wie ein kleiner Kolibri oder ein Jet bei der Luftbetankung. Wunderbare Aufnahmen!
17 months ago.
Keith Burton club has replied to trester88 club
Yes it is............a great way of thinking of it. Thanks Wilhelm.
17 months ago.

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