This is as close as a bumblebee that I will ever see here. Taken me three days to get a decent photo. (sent from my Nokia)
15 thoughts on “Teddybear Bee”
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This is as close as a bumblebee that I will ever see here. Taken me three days to get a decent photo. (sent from my Nokia)
Comments are closed.
Christine R 
Yet again, Christine, quick on the draw! Well done!
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Wow! This is amazing. Is he / she breathing heavy? 😀
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What an unusual bee. I’ve never seen one like that before.
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We call those Big Berthas! Makes me wonder how on earth they can fly with those tiny wings compared to their huge bodies! Fabulous photo … your patience was rewarded 🙂
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She’s really lovely! A magnificent shot! No bumbling around with that one! 😀
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WHAT A TITLE ! 🙂 Surely this must be a bumblebee, CJR ?
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That’s fabulous, Christine! We have masses of bumblebees down here in Tassie and I can hardly believe something as large and apparently clumsy as that can actually fly …
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They flit around at an amazing speed, Paula. You probably know that Tasmania is the only state with the European bumblebee. I thought this was one of those until I remembered reading about our native ones. I never expected them to be so big!
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We used to get these native ‘bumblebees’ in our garden in the Adelaide Hills, Christine, so I know exactly what you mean. It’s difficult for me to be sure now, so many years later, how much the two types differ in size. But I adore the European bumblebees we get now 🙂
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Sorry everyone, thanks for visiting. I’m having PC issues which have thrown me off the rails (computer issues, that is!) I meant to follow up this photo from my phone with a full post.
Anyway, to answer M-R’s question … this gigantic bee is an Australian native and I was just flabbergasted when it arrived, with a mate, and a cousin – the blue-banded bee from the same family (half the size, but still biggish).
Wikipedia…
Amegilla bombiformis, commonly known as the Teddy Bear Bee or Golden haired mortar bee, is an Australian native bee in the family Apidae.
Bombiformis is Latin for ‘form of a bumblebee’
🙂 I’ll post proper tonight.
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Gosh, Christine! What a photo! And as an arctophile, I want one of these bees!
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Arctophile? Had to look that up! 😀 They are a beautiful golden colour and really fluffy when young which is why the teddy bear name. This one is getting older, by the look of the darkish spot on his back.
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Wow, what a shot, Christine.:)
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That is an amazing photo. Makes the bee look like it’s 4 inches or more long. How big was it actually?
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About 15mm long, according to this website which has fantastic photos. (Thanks for dropping by.)
http://www.aussiebee.com.au/teddy-bear-bee-dec2012.html
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