| Photo Information |
Copyright: philippe hornus (amanengone)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 188 W: 54 N: 412]](//i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (2113) |
| Genre: Animals |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2013-07-19 |
| Categories: Insects |
| Camera: Canon PowerShot G12 |
| Exposure: f/4.5, 1/200 seconds |
| Map: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2013-09-05 16:03 |
| Viewed: 2678 |
| Points: 4 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
A swarm on a leaf
This swarm in such a an unsteady and precarious location represent a temporary situation. This is only a stop over before finding a proper situation for the colony. That place has been found by scout bees, just a few days before the swarming.
This stage is necessary and extremly important for the life of the initial colony: the laying queen has deposited eggs in the queens cups created by the worker bees. Now, the developpement of the eggs is quite completed; and in one colony, only one queen can remains. To avoid any difficulty, the old queen has to go before that the new virgin qeen will emerge. She is followed by a great number of worker bees and male and go in a place founded nby the scout bees.
Now, from that place, again, scout bees will explore the nearby area to found a better location. It will takes one or two days, not more than three. To guide the entire colony to his destination, a scout bee execute a special dance like a waggle dance. The more exited she is the more convincing she is. Other scout bes can follow her and check the new destination. After many checks, a final destination is retained and the entir colony goes in that place. AS the swarm cannot survive more than three days (with the honey they accululated before to gos out), it is very urgent ot found a new place, safe, enough spacious and close from flowers producing a great quantity of pollen i.e.meliferous flowers.
And a new colony has born.
To be noted that during the swarming, the bees are generally peacfull and relatively non aggresive. Mainly due to the fact that first, they don't have any real possibility of defense (they die after they sting you). And second, they are too preoccupated to found a new location. Nevertheless, approaching a swarm, you must stay calm and avoid to have any unfriendly comportment. If not, the complete swarm could attack you and ... .
The picture
It was possible for me to stay quite clmose to the swarm (maybe less tha one meter). Focal length 30 millimetres; focal length f/4,5 (poor condition of light, under the canopy of the trees); sensibility ISO-800 equivalent. Speed of shooting:1/200.
Postreatment
Resizing and cropping at 80% of the original picture. Sharpness, gamma and saturation improved with Olympus software. Pixellisation fixed with the software neat image.
Links
If you want to see how to catch a swarm, click here:
Catching a swarm (clip)
Full size picture here:
Full size picture
Another point of view of the same swarm |
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