Sambac, I had a "swarm" 10 times that size last year in one of my oak trees. We were very concerned because my husband is very allergic to bees. I found some local bee-keepers on the web and they came over to educate us on honey bees. The air was abuzz within hundreds of feet from the tree but the bees just went on their merry way, threatening no one. It was something I will remember forever, truly an awesome sight!!! I traded the beekeepers some tomato plants for their wisdom and time and am even considering setting up some hives in my yard-fresh honey! With all the bad-stuff going on out there-consider yourself lucky!!

Well honey bees mate in the AIR so I don`t know what you saw!!

Thanks BN. I think you're right. I thought it looked different from the regular ruby-throated females I photographed in Summer.

Loooove your butterfly Jim!!! Oh, Pelicanhead that is a fantastic honeybee shot!!! How in the heck is did you get yours to stay so still! My photos are terrible! I can never get my honeybees to stay still enough!!! Marina, at least we can enjoy the photo for its gorgeous lighting and beauty and it's a great insect shot as well! The details of Lyda's petals and buds, and the veining of the leaves is very striking! The insect is a wasp. You can see the nice sharp detail of its abdomen and the ridging that segments it. It's cool too, Marina! Honeybees have a very smooth oval outline to their abdomen, it always must have fuzziness and there's no ridging/indentations. The healthier and older the bee, the more glossy highlights you will see in the fuzzy fur. Lol, Ingrida, you can shake a honeybee anytime! They are very shy and will just fly away!! I constantly am aggravating honeybees with my misaim with Eluane's frisbee. I even have to untangle my frisbee from the Russian sage which is loaded with honeybees. The only time they will sting is if you wrap your fingers around it or try to squash it with your bare hands, lol! Not so with yellowjackets! I have heard of horror stories about yellowjackets doing a chasedown, haha!