Imogen's photos

Australian native bee, Amegilla Cingulata (Blue Banded Bee) on Salvia flower. This native bee of Australia does not live in a communal hive like the honey bee. Each female makes her own single nest in a burrow in the ground or sometimes in a wall cavity or such like, where she lays her eggs. However, groups of these bees often make their nests in close proximity to each other in a pseudo community. Individual Amegilla live just one season each before dying off in winter. In Spring the eggs hatch and the life cycle carries on once more. Salvia as a group of plants provide a long season of nourishment for native and other bees in Australia and other similar climates.

Delphinium Elatum seed pod development. All the world is a hustle bustle, and all the while Nature quietly procreates to ensure survival. This Delphinium is in a hurry, producing seed pods while the florets are still in full bloom. The summer has been dry in Australia this year, with little rain in six months. Some plants seem to sense this in advance and grow and seed quickly in an attempt to give their offspring a head start.

Apis Mellifera (honey bee). This lovely blue salvia plant has attracted just about every bee species around our area. Native bees love it as do honey bees like the one here. Bees are an integral part of the life cycle of flowers and my pictures try to show this. To me, plants have an exuberance equal to that of insects and other animals. When I look at nature through my lens like here, the bee is as much part of the tapestry as the plant. I appreciate macro work by other photographers who show a bee or insect close-up and in (relative) isolation, but prefer to show a wider view of nature myself.