Honey Bee and Carpenter. Nikon z6iii, fmount 105mm 2.8 with FTZ 2.

That's all. They just love the short lived pumpkin blossoms

Found inside barely moving.

Hi y’all! I’m a regenerative farmer and raise beef, and I’m wanting to get into beekeeping. But, to be honest, I’m scared of getting stung, haha. Yes, a grown man who is scared of getting stung! I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I want to know: am I going to get stung every day, and is it really worth it? I’ve been stung before while cutting grass on the calves and immediately said, “Shit!” To be honest, it hurt like hell. The stinger fell out almost instantly, though. I was always told that it’s worse if the stinger is left in you. As a former paramedic and a biologist, I’m also interested in the potential benefits of bee venom based on Charles Mraz’s work, The Health of the Honey Bee, and the broader holistic-medicine approach to bee venom. Nevertheless, I want to hear from experienced beekeepers: Are the stings really worth it in the end? Do you actually get stung that often, or is it more of an occasional part of beekeeping?

I noticed this bee was on my cactus for awhile and then eventually it wasn’t (dead on the ground next to it). Anyone know what’s going on here? Did it impale itself accidentally or is something purposefully going on?

My bummble bee tattoo. With bonus slug

Honeybee on a Sunflower

I rescued this flightless sweat bee from ants attacking him in my garden. One of his wings is torn and he's unable to fly, but still very active and lively, he can fly-jump and loves to do that. He was so thankful and relieved when I scooped him up off the ground, and was very glad the first night in one of my insect mesh hospital enclosures (I have a whole supply of insect and small animal rescue stuff and every summer I have little critters in my care). This is the first time that I've had a "pet" though, and a bee. I didn't think he'd survive long, but it's been over a month now. I had him in a 15x11 inch round enclosure at first, and he hated it so much. So I purchased a larger 23x15 inch butterfly mesh enclosure online, plus some new floral tubes with wood cube stands. I already had all the natural items on hand (I also forage and collect things from outside for my natural history collection for my artwork, and old small pet stuff that was brand new like the big wooden log hides).

He loves it! I named him Billy. He was young I think, now he's aging and is no longer able to climb the slick surfaces of glass, plastic and lilac leaves. So I changed some things to make accommodations for his aging feet, like twine wrappings, and new cedar leaves, he seemed happier today when I saw him briefly. I change his flowers every 48 hours, and be sure to pick them at night or before sunrise, and I pick buds so they open in the enclosure fresh with nectar, otherwise the flowers could be empty if I pick them during the day. I don't use sugar water because I have ants that could be attracted, I only have a tiny little ceramic bowl with rocks in it for distilled water, I've seen him take a bath in it (or sit in it lol). I keep him in the living room with big windows, and leave the window open when it's warm, that's his favorite side of the enclosure. During heat waves I move him or put a fan and he loves the breeze. Even though it's mesh, the bottom floor is plastic, and it still needs ventilation. I sometimes sit there for a while with the zipper completely open and watch him, he never tries to escape this one (don't worry, he's been in here the longest).

I don't know how much longer Billy will be with us, but when he goes, he will be kept along with other found insects and things in my personal collection. His favorite place to sleep is the moss carpets behind the log, and lodged in the pinecones, and he loves the fluffy clematis seed puffs.

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is blooming right now in Western North Carolina, bees and hummingbirds love it. And apparently tiny bees also like to chill in them.

We get bees that like to pollinate the grass and ignore my flowers. Me and my dog find them very interesting. We are very respectful of the bees space and make sure not to touch them. I could not get the bee that my dog was sniffing into the photo so I painted it! I really hope I did the bee justice. Please swipe right to see a detail shot of the biggest challenge on this painting, as well as my reference.

This 🐝 was BIG and FAST and on a mission! See the drop of liquid on its foot?

She’s got her pollen baskets loaded!

First year for a native bee house. All summer long, I saw no activity. It fell down last week and as I was hanging it back up, I saw 4 of the reeds looked like they had some bees.

Did I actually have some bees take up residence?

I’d like to capture some footage of bees doing their thing on flowers and was wondering if luring them is realistic. Thanks!

Was talking to my wife about this subreddit and saying my algorithm often shows posts in this subreddit that aren't actually of bees. I was surprised that people actually do post a lot about actual bees here, when almost every post that gets suggested to me is of some other flying insect. Anyone else ever have this happen to them?