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Pollination means Life on Earth


Pollination means Life on Earth
Photo Information
Copyright: Catherine Dijon (CatherineD) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 429 W: 15 N: 1863] (6723)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-03-01
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon EOS 40 D, Canon EF 100 mm F2.8 Macro USM
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/400 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-03-01 9:50
Viewed: 736
Points: 36
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis. Currently, there are only seven recognized species of honey bee with a total of 44 subspecies (Engel, 1999) though historically, anywhere from six to eleven species have been recognized. Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the approximately 20,000 known species of bees. (Wikipedia)
Though Apis mellifera is currently not listed under any endangered species lists, it is important to note that their native species numbers are declining. This is ironic, as human activity is the reason for their decline, yet human intervention ensures their absence from these lists. The majority of honeybees are currently managed by humans for commercial reasons such as the production of honey and their role as pollinators.
Foods for Apis mellifera are honey and pollen. The bees collect the nectar from flowers in their crop, which is connected to the gut. The bees' legs are designed to comb pollen from the body. The workers use the collected pollen and add honey to create a mixture called "bee bread", which is the food for bees. Stored in the cells of the honeycomb, pollen supplies vitamins and proteins for the hive. Pollen is composed of 6 to 28% protein by weight, and contains 10 essential amino acids for the bees. Nectar, which is kept in the honeycomb cells, has 0.2% protein and is composed of 5 to 80% sugar supplying carbohydrates for the hive( Koning, 1994). (Earlham)
The plant is a Sarcococca humilis or Christmas Box, a shrub flowering in winter, with a nice powerful scent.
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La survie ou l’évolution de plus de 80 % des espèces végétales dans le monde et la production de 84 % des espèces cultivées en Europe dépendent directement de la pollinisation par les insectes. Ces insectes pollinisateurs sont pour l’essentiel des abeilles. Partout dans le monde et plus encore dans les pays industrialisés, les populations de ces abeilles sont en déclin et de nombreuses espèces sont menacées.
Plus de 20 000 espèces d’abeilles dans le monde contribuent à la reproduction sexuée, et donc à la survie et à l’évolution de plus de 80% des espèces de plantes à fleurs. Ces fleurs leur offrent nectar, pollen, mais aussi huile, chaleur, parfum, leurre sexuel — ou parfois rien du tout ! — en échange de ce service, d’apparence modeste mais essentiel, que constitue le transport de leur pollen depuis
les étamines productrices jusqu’aux stigmates du même ou d’un autre individu,
permettant la fécondation. (Inra)
En butinant les fleurs pour en soutirer le nectar qu’elles transformeront en miel, les abeilles accumulent le pollen sur leurs pattes postérieures. Elles en forment de petites pelotes qu’elles rapportent à la ruche afin de l’utiliser comme nourriture. Ces pelotes renferment, outre le pollen de diverses espèces végétales, des enzymes que produisent les abeilles dans le but de dissoudre la solide enveloppe qui enferme les éléments nutritifs à l’intérieur de chaque minuscule grain de pollen. Le pollen d’abeille est composé de 30 % à 55 % de glucides (sucres), de 25 % à 30 % de protides (protéines et acides aminés libres), de 1 % à 20 % de lipides (gras) et, pour le reste, de vitamines (principalement du groupe B) et de minéraux (calcium, chlore, cuivre, fer, magnésium, manganèse, phosphore, potassium, silicium, soufre).(passeportsante.net)
La plante est un Sarcococca humilis ou Buis de Noël, buisson qui fleurit en hiver, avec un délicieux parfum.
azaf1, gannu, Noisette, eng55, nglen, red45, siggi, techranger, maurydv, jconceicao has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Catherine,

Fantastic capture.
Beautiful colours with great details.
Light,focus and sharpness are superb.
Excellent composition.

Ciao Catherine, superb macro with lovely busy bee, fantastic colors, amazing details and splendid sharpness, very well done, ciao Silvio

Ciao Catherine,
une très belle photo de cette jolie abeille prise avec un excellent POV, la netteté est extraordinaire, j'adore les couleurs brillantes, le parfait cadrage et la raffinée présentation.
Merci et félicitations.
Amicalement
Maurizio

Beautiful capture of this bee really getting "into" it's work. While collecting nectar for the hive, this worker unknowingly provides a future for others... we should all be this "into" our work... ;) TFS Catherine...

Larry

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1380 W: 56 N: 4759] (16364)
  • [2009-03-01 11:31]

Hello Catherine,
Superb sharp macro and well detailed pic. The POV, Composition, clarity and DOF all combine to make this a really great pic.
Best regards Siggi

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2705 W: 74 N: 8864] (30243)
  • [2009-03-01 11:54]

Hi Catherine!

True title! I read somewhere that without pollinators our ecosphere would die very fast. Your picture is slightly funny - this bee is really hard working, all covered with pollen including eyes. Great quality and important note.

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2916 W: 34 N: 8651] (32250)
  • [2009-03-01 12:04]

Hi Catherine. Now this picture looks like spring is with you. You have taken this close up with fine detail and sharp focusing. we can see the insect covered in pollen. Good use of the light with natural colours. well done TFS.
Nick..

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2398 W: 94 N: 5543] (17640)
  • [2009-03-01 12:13]

Hello Catherine,
Excellent sharp-detailed photo in very beautiful light and clear colours. Great POV and composition.
Regards,
Peter

  • Great 
  • eng55 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1151 W: 32 N: 1192] (3654)
  • [2009-03-01 13:22]

Hi Catherine,
Excellent capture of this polencoholic bee:)Your image is crisp clear and tacksharp.POV,exposure and details are also perfect.
Thanks for posting.

Bonita presentación de esta abeja Catherine. Un preciso enfoque y una iluminación casi insuperable. Enhorabuena.
Saludos: Josep Ignasi.

Witaj Catherine
Fantastic capture. Excellent sharp. Good use of the light with natural colours. WOW! WOW! WOW!
Pozdrawiam - Roma

bonjour Catherine
Superbe photo de cette abeille couverte de pollen, les détails sont éblouissants et les couleurs sont d'une telle beauté
du très beau travail
Jacqueline

Hy Catherine
Wow, excellent details!I really like the bee with all that polen on her!It seems that spering finally is here! Well done !
Oana

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1169 W: 4 N: 3262] (14691)
  • [2009-03-02 16:30]

Catherine, that day I also had a look at their pollination. The bee was covered totally with pollination and it was not able to see properly. It kept on wiping the eye but was stuck. This is a nice shot.Ganesh

  • Great 
  • fiyo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 987 W: 5 N: 2762] (10618)
  • [2009-03-03 13:55]

Merhaba Catherine,
harika netlik ve detaylar. Çok güzel bir fotoğraf; renkler,pozlama çok başarılı olmuş.
Tebrikler.

  • Great 
  • azaf1 (42)
  • [2009-03-05 6:08]

Geia sou Katerina

It certainly looks "dusty". Very sharp and beautiful

Argiris

Hello Catherine.

Excellent macro, nice composition and colors.
Very good details.

Regards.
Jose Luis.

amazing close up, TFS Ori

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