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Strange Sleep

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted July 13, 2015174 views9 comments

I believe this may be a Wool Carder Bee in sleeping position. Any help with ID is much appreciated. Closer view follows.The « pillow » is Lavender.

D90, 105mm, f/14, 1/125, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, handheld, 77% of original frame. June 27, 2015, 17:39, Montreal.

All comments are welcome and appreciated.

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Yun Gao on July 13, 2015 at 12:04 AM

Here is the closer view. (Edit: extraction from the image to facilitate identification).

Registered on September 11, 2012, 267 Posts, 1621 Comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on July 13, 2015 at 3:46 AM

Yun ..a nice sharp image of beautiful behavior. I have never come across this behavior...here in my part of the world. A lovely bg too. Nice work..and i prefer the original frame as posted.

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on July 13, 2015 at 7:23 AM

I've never seen this either, Yun. Certainly a great photo op, and you took good advantage. Excellent detail in the bee and a fine bg (both images).

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on July 13, 2015 at 8:14 AM

Yun, I can't help with ID here. I find it hard to believe that this is sleeping with it's position on the lavender being held by it's mouth. I'm wondering if the bee isn't dead and there's a crab spider hiding under the head. (I've seen crab spiders with medium sized butterflies as prey.) The details are great as is the background and it is a very unusual position.

Jim's experience looks like the key to me. What a wild sleeping position. Sure has me thinking "learn something new every day".

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 13, 2015 at 10:16 AM

Could be a Wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) Yun, not %100 on that though. Looks strange hanging out like this.. Perhaps the "Quantum Strangeness Theory" explains it

Sharp details with nice light, colors, and BG

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on July 13, 2015 at 12:28 PM

There are quite a few groups of wasps and bees that sleep like the one that you photographed. I have encountered honeybees that did not make it back tothe hive, but slept attached to a grass stem by their mandibles. A great photo by the way. I like the BG and compositiion with excellent detail. The looks like it could be a Megachilid, but I cannot see thge hind tibia morphology to rule out other types of bees.........................................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on July 15, 2015 at 9:12 PM

Hello Yun.. crying . the detail is awesome. and the subject is perfectly captured.. hope it's alive cool frown

Albert Darmo

Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on July 16, 2015 at 7:59 PM

Yun - Excellent photo. Love the subject of course but also the pastel shades in the background.

This video shows the behaviour exactly. Appears that is how they sleep.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments

Comment posted by Yun Gao on July 18, 2015 at 1:10 PM

Thanks everyone for the comments! The bee is alive. Ram, thanks for the video link.

Registered on September 11, 2012, 267 Posts, 1621 Comments