Insects buzz around at all hours of the day and night even while they are sleeping. Joe Neely a wildlife photographer, demonstrates that bees actually nap. Joe captured this adorable image of two globe mallow bees napping in a brilliant globe mallow bloom. In a picture-perfect sight, pollen-covered animals are snuggled together in the center of the orange-crimson flower.
Neely happened upon the two bees by chance. “It was April, so my wife Niccole and I (both of us are keen nature photographers) went out in quest of Mexican poppy blossoms but the fields were empty,” he explains to the website. They eventually came across a flower grove on the side of the road and stopped to take pictures. “While hunting for the ideal flower, Nicole saw several bees inside one of the orange globe mallow blossoms. I dashed over and watched them for several minutes even though it was after sunset.”
More bees were climbing inside the blooms as Neely and his wife observed. “Shortly after,” he says, “every bloom on the plant had an unmoving inhabitant in it.” They were about to retire for the night. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Then, as the sun sank one final bee was desperately trying to locate his own flower but they were all gone, so he snuggled into petals with this other bee who shuffled a bit to make place for him.”
Neely instantly pulled out his macro photography equipment and snapped a couple of shots after realizing he had the perfect shot. “The contrast between their blue eyes and the orange blossoms was stunning. We didn’t learn anything about them until we returned home, and their peculiar habit of sleeping in globe mallow blooms.” Some bees spend the night in their hives but this species is frequently observed resting in the flower that bears their name. And, as Neely demonstrates it can be done with a friend.
Joe Neely, a nature photographer came upon the lovely sight of bees resting among globe mallow blooms.
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