# So i got a little bored and seen a bee.



## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

*So i got a little bored and seen a bee.(new pics)*

Hey, well i seen a bee flying around and since there are no flowers out i thought i would make a few fake ones and put some air tubing in the center with honey in that. Check out the photos i got!.

Now some flowers are in bloom so i took the opportunity to get a few nice shots with the new cam!.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

What a kind-hearted person you are! And what good pictures.

The bees are out looking for pollen first thing in the spring. Pollen has the protein they need to build up the population of the colony. It may not look like there are any flowers around, but the trees are blooming. When I kept bees I watched them bring in pollen of all colors -- yellow, orange, red, green, brown -- in the spring, but never identified the source of them all, except that the green was probably willow.


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

Thanks a lot bae!, Pollen you say?. Hmm i have some too. Maybe ill think of a way to give them that also. I guess the trees are blooming, i haven't seen to much activity around them yet but i think you are right. I cant wait to get my own Bee box (the tall ones) and make my own honey. Soon i hope.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

You are either a very kind-hearted entomophile, or you just have too much time on your hands...

Pretty decent looking morning glories- betcha that bee's wife didn't believe him when he got home and told her about his find of the day, lol


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

lol Thanks, I knew bees wouldn't be fussy over how nice they looked so i just did the basics. I am pretty fond of insects so i randomly do help them out haha. I also keep a few species of ant.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Tropic,

Nice flowers. When I saw that I was thinking if there was some LED in there. Come to think of it, I think a 3mm or 5mm (thinking more 3mm) LED could fit inside the airline tubing. With a pencil push it back say 2cm into the tubing, silicone it to weatherproof the front of the LED, and that spacing in the front of the LED that you pushed in you add your honey in. 

On the backend of the LED wire it to a 3.6-9v @ 800mA multi mode regulator to a 9v snap cap, put a on/off switch, and stick a 9v battery on it (excellent use of smoke alarm 9v batteries when you change them every spring/fall, you DID remember to put fresh 9v's into your smoke alarm right?) then toggle the modes till you get the so called 'SOS' mode which is more a beacon mode which flashes every ~4-5 seconds.

That way you could have the flowers show some early dawn or dusk colors. I rarely use the beacon mode in the multi-mode regulators unless I'm in a group and we need a low power signal for others to find us after dark.

Speaking of which I've been meaning on doing a simple 'how-to' on those LED's with pre-made regulators with a Macguyver view on it (ie. improvised for those without a soldering iron) and let others creativity of external desgin take over on that to make it look pretty or whatever tickles your fancy.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Your flowers remind me of morning glories.. ^_^


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

"Tropic, Nice flowers. When I saw that I was thinking if there was some LED in there. Come to think of it, I think a 3mm or 5mm (thinking more 3mm) LED could fit inside the airline tubing. With a pencil push it back say 2cm into the tubing, silicone it to weatherproof the front of the LED, and that spacing in the front of the LED that you pushed in you add your honey in."

Lol! That would be quite the display to attract a few bees. Personally you go for it, thats quite the idea though. 

Thanks Cid, i randomly did the colour and nothing fancy of the cutting but i totally agree with you. Back at my old place our whole fence was covered with morning glory's. Purple/pink/blue. It was quite the site.


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## Merman (Nov 23, 2009)

....very interesting. I believe I saw on a doco once that they see colours differently than we do and they showed pics of flowers as bees see them - pretty interesting stuff...if you have more time on your hands you could do tests with different colors/shapes,etc

Is that time wasted? lol. I love watching and observing animal behaviour...I am such a nerd...guess thats why I love aquariums so much.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Merman said:


> ....very interesting. I believe I saw on a doco once that they see colours differently than we do and they showed pics of flowers as bees see them - pretty interesting stuff...if you have more time on your hands you could do tests with different colors/shapes,etc
> 
> Is that time wasted? lol. I love watching and observing animal behaviour...I am such a nerd...guess thats why I love aquariums so much.


Bees can see farther into the ultraviolet than we can. What looks to us like a plain solid colored flower may have 'bee guide' markings in UV colors that direct the bees to the pollen and nectar. You can see bee guide markings on many flowers. They are spots or streaks that help the bee figure out its orientation on the flower. Bees can also see polarized light, which helps them navigate to and from the hive.


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

Bzzzz Added some new pics!.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

lol...I think I have almost the same shots with the white flowers.


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

Haha!, thats pretty funny. If you find me post them here, Would be neat to see them.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

nope...not the same flowers....


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

ahh lol, I have the pink spiky looking flowers, once they are ready... I will get the exact same shot lol. Sweet shots tho.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Riceburner's bees are bumblebees, not honeybees like Tropicana's. 

The pink spiky flowers are Echinacea, aka purple coneflower.

Great pics, as usual, both of you!


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

lol Indeed Bae. Thanks for the flower info!.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

I know the difference between the bees. Too bad I didn't get the shots of them in the Rose of Sharon flowers....they were covered!


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