Emerging Blue Mason Bees

[Dalantech]

Normally I'd harvest my Mason Bee cocoons in November and keep them in the fridge, but my fridge is so humid that mold grows on them. Cleaning the cocoons with a 5% bleach solution works, but I decided not to take any risks this year and harvest them in the spring. It's been so warm here that they had started to chew their way out of the cocoons, and several dozen emerged while I was unrolling the cardboard tubes that the females built the nests in.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (about 2.5x to over 3x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering with -1/3 FEC). These are single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Clarity in that order.

Emerging Blue Mason Bee IV by John Kimbler, on Flickr

Emerging Blue Mason Bee II by John Kimbler, on Flickr

Emerging Blue Mason Bee III by John Kimbler, on Flickr

Emerging Blue Mason Bee V by John Kimbler, on Flickr

[BugEZ]

First, great photos and interesting subject!

Second, what I love about this post in particular, and this community in general is that the seasonal collection of blue mason bee pupae may be discussed as though it was a common every day activity. Like picking apples.

Dalantech, you make the fungus gnat larva I am rearing in my basement look pretty ho-hum!

BugEZ

[Dalantech]

First, great photos and interesting subject!

Second, what I love about this post in particular, and this community in general is that the seasonal collection of blue mason bee pupae may be discussed as though it was a common every day activity. Like picking apples.

Dalantech, you make the fungus gnat larva I am rearing in my basement look pretty ho-hum!

BugEZ

Thanks!

My photography is very seasonal, and I don't get much time with the camera in my hand, so with at least a dozen solitary bee species in my yard plus raising Masons I end up with a lot of bee photos.

[Dalantech]

I'm pushing myself to document my Blue Mason Bees emerging before their done and I have to wait another year. But finding a composition that works at five times life size is tough, and I'm hitting the limits of what I can do in a single frame with the camera in my hand.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (5x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering with -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Clarity in that order.

Emerging Blue Mason Bee VI by John Kimbler, on Flickr

[MarkSturtevant]

Excellent! All top notch.

[Dalantech]

Excellent! All top notch.

Thanks!

[Dalantech]

There was a lot of stuff in the foreground and background that I thought was distracting, so I took the magnification up to five times life size to try and isolate this emerging male Blue Mason Bee's face.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (5x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering with -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Clarity in that order.

Emerging Blue Mason Bee VIII by John Kimbler, on Flickr