Will Mann of LA Metblogs took this amazing photo of a passion flower being serviced by a carpenter bee.200804111301.jpg


There’s a bank of passion flowers blooms off the Ballona Creek Bikeway east of Sepulveda Boulevard that have been calling to me and my camera for about two weeks, but only on this morning were the timing and weather conditions right to find them soaking up the full illumination of the morning sun. As an added serendipitous bonus I was getting a macro shot of this blossom when the Biggest Fucking Loudest Bumble Carpenter Bee Ever that I named Maverick, buzzed the tower that is my head without proper authorization and came in for a landing to add to the already copious amount of pollen it was already packing on its back.

Link

  • wildbell

    Now that I’ve had a chance to read the comments, thanks to those who appreciate the snap, and to those who feel it merits a bagging, thanks for the buzzkills.

    I’m no perfeshunal. Just a guy who takes a cam wherever he goes, points it at things sometimes on the macro setting, and likes sharing the results.

    -WC

  • MessengerBoy

    Here’s a photo of a Passion Flower I found growing on the porch of the Molly Brown house in Hannibal, Missouri. This was the first time I’d ever seen one and I was fascinated by them.

    Passion Flower

    I don’t know if putting links in comments is kosher on Boing Boing, so I apologize in advance if I’m breaking a rule.

  • techdeviant

    Passion flowers are so beautiful and crazy looking, but mine always grew too voraciously and I had to cut it back a lot of the time. Also, I could never get mine to produce fruit… it would just tease me with these small grape sized things that eventually fell off.

  • Antinous

    Carpenter bees are amazing. They’re so fat that their Shelob-like bodies hang straight down while their pathetically inadequate little wings try to manage the load. No wonder they make so much noise.

  • Pipenta

    That bee wasn’t merely “servicing” that flower, that there bee was “SONICATING” that flower.

    BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAPT!!!

    Oh, baby, was it good for you?

  • pattihaskins

    passion flowers are in Dallas, Texas. here’s one in my yard with three bees.
    http://flickr.com/photos/pattipics/12505936/sizes/o/

  • Denomerdano

    “Bad, somewhat macro photograph of a passion flower being serviced by a unfortunately named carpenter bee”

  • claud9999

    Agreed about carpenter bees; they are amazing insects. A flower called “coral bells” is another favorite, the flowers are 1/8″ across but the bees love them.

    I have noticed that there are two “types”, one fairly normal-sized (maybe 1″ long), and another more rare type (~1.5″ long). I am uncertain whether the larger ones are a different species, mutants, or males.

    Another fun plant in my yard are large spurge; whose flowers mimic meat (black flowers, no smell to me, but I’m sure to the insects.) We see lots of interesting wasps and flies; none are pests that annoy humans, luckily. Unluckily, a neighbor hung a wasp trap, I hope it doesn’t affect the population too much…(Wasps do an excellent job of controlling other, plant-eating, pest insects.)

  • pacotelic

    Those three bees are nectar thieves. Notice that their backs are not touching the flat stamens nor the deployed pistils.

  • Antinous

    We have tarantula hawks here. You know a wasp is tough when it can kill a tarantula and drag it back to its burrow to lay its eggs in the carcass.

  • Takuan

    I call that a typical date

  • libelle

    If you think the carpenter bees are loud in ordinary flowers, you should hear them when they’re going up into the not-quite-large-enough openings of the bell-shaped flowers on a cassia tree.

    I can sit in the back yard, and they sound like someone firing up a dremel tool against the garage…

  • eustace

    Nice job photographer – hereafter known as Will “the Mann” Campbell!

  • 5000!

    Thanks for the props to my fellow Metblogger, Mark, but looks like you’ve misinterpreted his name. That should be “Will Campbell.”

  • Freddie Freelance

    All I can think of was “Maverick, you can ride my stinger anytime!”

  • Takuan

    mmmm…pollen porn..

  • Tenn

    That flower is like a wild trip or something. It took me a long time to see the bee!

  • Takuan

    no passion flowers in Texas? They aren’t that hard to grow.

  • dculberson

    Carpenter bees are cool until they drill hundreds of holes in the soffit and fascia boards of your house. Those things are voracious!! Tons of damage.

  • dculberson

    Correction: by “voracious” I just mean they chew up a lot of wood building a place to lay their eggs. They don’t actually eat the wood.

  • murray

    Passion flowers are crazy cool, and so are Carpenter bees. But that ain’t much of a photo.

  • raoulduke

    So, I think it’s an amazing photo, and well worth following the link. So, photo experts: offer constructive criticism for an apparent novice, please.

  • Allison

    The photo looks better on the original site- it’s hi-res, so i think the compression on this page makes it look less pretty than it actually is.

    blogging.la

    ~A

  • wildbell

    Thanks much to BoingBoing for the shout out about my lucky photo. And while “Will Mann” has a definite ring to it, forgive me my bias toward my actual name: Will Campbell.