usinglight

It is not what you see…

How much water does a bee need?

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usinglight

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No really! That is no trick question. I visited the botanical garden today and it was hot. Not hot as in hot but hot as hot as in hell. So stand in the middle of all the plants and start to question myself: How much water does a bee hive need? Do bees actually need water?

I have to admit, that it started as a trip to take some macros of blossoms. But as the story goes the ending changed. Concerning the water intake of a bee hive: Aunt Google says that a bee hive uses up to a liter of water a day. The water is used for cooling the hive and diluting honey (to feed the larvae). And I still do not know if bees also need to drink water or if they get water from nectar only. Now enjoy the pictures.

Wooden landscape

Omnomnomnom

Alien watercollector

Up to the neck

Waiting for a thirsty victim

There is a fly on the edge

Thirsty Wasp

For the number crunchers out there: Nex-7 with the Kenko DG Extension tubes (10mm + 16mm) and the 18-55mm. If you ever try this combination, do not go higher than f/16 – the picture gets very *uhm* uncrispy.

7 responses

  1. Mark Miscovich Avatar
    Mark Miscovich

    eb.biologists.org/content/212/3/429.full

    Reply
  2. marina Avatar
    marina

    fantastic captures!!!

    Reply
  3. mwdurr Avatar
    mwdurr

    Ah…so that’s why you started following my blog. Fellow NEX-7-onian! Pleasure seeing your blog as well. Great macros (I had no idea those extension tubes were available already, are those the ones that transfer autofocus?), and a seriously cool Gravatar pic.

    Reply
    1. usinglight Avatar
      usinglight

      🙂 These are the ones with autofocus and they work like a clock. I only experienced problems if there was not enough light. Then I had to adjust the focus. I think now I need a good zoom lens.

      Reply
      1. mwdurr Avatar
        mwdurr

        That’s awesome! Surprised I hadn’t heard anymore about these. For a good superzoom, you can’t go wrong with the SEL18200 or Tamron version. If you were wanting a fast standard, evidently a high-grade 16-50 may be coming this summer according to the rumor mill. But you no how those places go… >.>

  4. usinglight Avatar
    usinglight

    I love the internet 😀 http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/long/212/3/429 tells me everything I needed to know. Short: they drink water, the bees who stay in the hive and the larvae get fed by the others (they actually need most of the water).

    Reply
  5. uribg Avatar
    uribg

    Plants and insects–my favorite subjects! Esp. love bees!

    Reply

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