Beautiful Big Black Bee

Taken in Arillas, Corfu. I saw these bees on a number of occasions but every time I tried to get a shot, by the time I broke away from eating food at the taverna and set the camera up (rookie mistake I know!) the bee flew away.

Out of all the creatures I took pictures of in Corfu - this was by far my favourite. I like how big it is an how gentle it is also. Looks intimidating at first but after spending a lot of time watching them, they seem to be very gentle creatures - just interested in gathering pollen :)

comments (2)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Excellent capture, Stuart, very sharp and definitely an interesting bee. Posted 10 years ago
1. Stuart
  
  Lion
  
  Thank you very much - Funnily enough, I didn't need to use the extension rings or screw on magnification lenses to capture this big bee ;) for the first time in ages, I just put the camera into automatic mode and auto-focus.... Posted 10 years ago

The Violet carpenter bee

"Xylocopa violacea", the violet carpenter bee, is the common European species of carpenter bee, and one of the largest bees in Europe. It is also native to Asia. Like most members of the genus "Xylocopa", it makes its nests in dead wood. It is not particularly aggressive, and will attack only if forced to.

Info 17 1

Similar species: Wasps, Bees, Sawflies And Ants

Species identified by Stuart