Most folks are familiar with the comic book hero the Green Hornet, but have you ever seen a green bee? I don’t see them very often, so I was pretty excited to spot this one in some flowers last weekend at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I think this kind of bee is generally known as a metallic green sweat bee and is of the genus Agapostemon.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What a find, Mike. Beautiful bee and great composition!
Thanks, Chris. One of the nice things about photographing bees is that they are so focused on what they are doing that I am able to move in pretty close. However, I usually have to shoot quickly because the bees are in constant motion and are likely to move to a new flower if I hesitate too long.
I know what you mean. Well you did very well.
I rarely see these little jewels, but now and then I do, and I’m always excited to find them. They’re beautiful. I still remember the first one I found; I wasn’t sure it was real. I didn’t know Nature ‘made’ such creatures.
I know exactly how you felt. The green metallic color of these bees is so unusual that it looks almost artificial and man-made, like a tiny piece of jewelry. God makes some cool things. 🙂
Great shot , Mike. I have only ever seen this bee once, and only managed to get off one half baked shot.
I ended up taking quite a few shots before I got one in which the bee’s head was not buried in the flower or turned to the rear. There was a lot of luck (and persistence) involved.
Well, we photographers know all about luck, right?
”I just happened to be standing in the very spot these animals migrate every year and after all these years I have been here for two days and I took this once in a lifetime photograph. Lucky, really.”
🙂
Stunning image. The capture of the textures and detail is amazing and those colours just sing together.
As everyone else has said, you did a good job with your photograph of this metallic green bee. Like you, I don’t often see these colorful bees, but whenever I do I try to get a picture too.
The genus name Agapostemon appears to be Greek for ‘loves stamens.’
Thanks, Steve, for your kind words and for the info on the Greek name. It’s always intriguing to have insights into what was going on in the minds of those who came up with the name. Sometimes, though not in this case, I am left scratching my head and wondering, “What were they thinking?”
I often find myself asking the same question about much of human behavior!