Not saying

Should this be on view before the watershed? :-)

I'm sure I'm not the only female that will ignore your last comment Brian :))
Great capture though, I hope you paid well for the exclusive!

He probably got stung lol.

Lol. You mucky lot!
He certainly likes big women, that's for sure.

hmmmm nice Brian.

Lol! Brilliant photo Brian :o)

They are happy together at least :O) great picture well done!!!

I had to look twice, thinking surely there are more than 2 bees there. That female is one big momma!! Great snap, Brian.

lol Tuesday, my vision isn't too good, I thought it was one strangely shaped bee till i read the caption/.

could you provide nesting opportunities, Bjs? though she's probably already laid by now. But still, they must favour your garden, and will probably the kids will find it if the nest's not too far away.

Fran I know where they are hundreds of them in a fairly large nesting box further down the garden .I tried taking a picture but it's was all a blur they won't stay still when I tell them to, unlike Jamie they are not trained.lol

you ought to put this in a wildlife or nature photo competition, Bjs - if it didn't win a prize I'd eat a kangaroo (roasted, with chips)

how on earth did you TRAIN a springer spaniel is what I want to know. Our three have minds of their own. lol :O))) talking of bees, I have a bird box and they are swarming in it, got stung this morning, forgot it was there and ouch!!!!! Little b.....s :O) good job I love them in my garden or I would fetch the pest controller out to them. lol the blinking box is by the front door too and near a strawberry patch oh the perils of being a gardener and liking strawberries too. I will survive. lol :O)

To me that male bee looks more like a gynaecologist during his daily routine work, lol. Sorry, just professional deformation.
Anyway, I think CIA trained bees. You never know, BJS, what you have in the garden of Eden.

As I understand it (and I'm ready to be corrected) male bees die after mating, at least in the species that the documenatry was about, so the urge must be really strong in them. At least male spiders have a chance to leg it before they become lunch

Fran had a little read on the subject and apparently most species do die after mating but not Bumble Bees they continue until the weather becomes cold,apparently the the newly fertilized Queen will either oust the old Queen or set up new colony.
Getting a lot of Queens, as Andrew said will have to watch the watershed so read after 10pm

grins, I have ID that can prove my age!

Praying mantis eat their partner after mating, wonder what happened to this male?! Get stung to death?!!
;)

Shirlwhirl
Read my comment above they live to fight another day

Sorry Bjs, didn't take it all in!!

Well I never! I enjoyed reading everyone's comments, so glad I'm late on this one! It does rather look like he's looking up her knickers at first glance....lol...but I've never seen this either Brian. Nice capture...if a little voyeuristic! :)))

apparently, if the male mantis'es head isn't removed, he can't mate, his brain inhibits the process. Most bees that die after mating die because a certain part of them is left inside the queen when they fall away; as I understand it, they bleed to death.

ain't nature wonderful!

Eugh!

Fran I am not sure we wanted to know that bit.

tmi? sorry! I did type it after the watershed!

Die if they sting & die if they...er, well, anyway, not much fun being a bee, is it?
I'll have to reconsider my karmic options. Lol.

lol so long as you decide on a queen bee, no probs! other than having thousands of children and spending most of yuour life stuck in a hole underground unable to tend to yourself ...

Think I'll come back as a flower. Lol.

:-) you'll come back as a field of them!

Going off at a tangent, we have just returned from a quick visit to Bristol where the local council has sown wild flower meadows where there used to just be undergrowth. Unfortunately did not manage to stop and click because of the volume of traffic but it looked very attractive and must help encourage lots of bee activity back in to the city. Great site this for educating us on all aspects of the world around us.

Couldn't agree more, Scotsgran!
Strangely, was listening to 'The Flower Duet'...Lakme, as I typed this.