Little Blue Bee
I first sighted this one on the flagpole at the edge of the field and coaxed it onto a leaf for placing for a few shots, it’s about 5mm long. It was a cold day and the bee was slow moving. As it looked in need I gave it some honey and it took a little but it seems to have something wrong with its eating gear, it was always out, didn’t retract.
It sat still on the leaf for a while then seemed to get restless, in search of something. Eventually I gave it a warm finger to climb on and it was in heaven. It sped up, wandering all over my hand, and eventually took to snuggling into the warmer sheltered crevices of my curled hand, nose first.
Then, all of a sudden, it climbed to the highest point on my hand, stopped and preened its antennae and fanned its wings a few times, then took to the air on the next leg of its epic journey across the small field of grass.
Who knows what happened next, maybe it got home.
*
Well, that’s living isn’t it? From lethargy on a wasteland of cold hard metal on a winter’s day to well fed, warm and groomed. Not dead yet.
Who would have thought a giant would come along and provide for the little one while it recovered enough to be on its way.
What little bee could dream such a thing?
You never know what’s coming.
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
Nature's Place 
Pleased you enjoy them Jamyun and LE.
These pictures and your words about them made me so happy.
Thanks!
great pics..
It looks like it has war-paint on its face Mark. :)
What a wonderful experience you had. I wonder what these insects think when something like this happens to them? I rescued a bee from drowning in a puddle once and it sat, exhausted, on my finger for a long time till it dried out and started moving again and finally flew away. THIS is what life is all about for me. People are always asking me how come I get so many pictures of insects on my hand and there is no way I can explain it. Needless to say I have had to learn to take pictures one-handed. :)
Have a great weekend Mark. Thank goodness for us the warmer weather is here at last and we can get out into the field again. I am soon going to spend 2 weeks in the bush and you will not believe how I am looking forward to waking up to the sounds of it again.
I don’t think they think anything, they just do as they are moved by instinct in response to sensory stimulus. Plus, since all creatures don’t respond the same, there is an element of freedom in how they respond, intelligence – the creative principle. They are not entirely robotic.
Some small creatures are attracted to the warmth of the hand, or the salt or moisture of sweat. And who knows, some are probably attracted to the essence of the being behind the hand, an invisible radiance, I think so. People with an affinity, or love, for the natural earth are usually attractive to the things of nature. Why not?
It is not scientific but then science is concerned with the rationalization of form, with naming and understanding, and not with the beauty or truth in and behind it.
I see what you mean about his eating gear always hanging out, it looks really good in #7, looks like his is buggered and having a rest with his tongue hanging out. I really like #2 also, looks kind of mean and there is just so much detail in that shot.
When you give him honey, is this just normal honey? I once tried placing honey on a leaf hoping the near by bee would try it but never even looked at it.
Great work Mark
Normal honey, yes, applied with a pipette to a spot in front of it. They don’t always find it though. Another way is to dilute honey/sugar and spray it on (a much larger area) some leaves in the garden but there is no guarantee it will be found either.