This was my first outdoor try shooting insects with Macro Lenses on my 18-200mm lens.  There is nothing like actually doing something to find out the challenges: a slight breeze, flower stems that swayed when even the smallest insect landed on them, following the insect through the view finder at full zoom…

…the shock of seeing this beast when you were expecting a bee!

I have no idea what this is but it was huge. Appearing to hang on for dear life, it didn’t appear to show any other interest in the flower.

This bee appears similar to the one featured in my post “A Yellow Fur Jacket” at the end of May, this time on a prettier flower.  There were many buzzing around and  generally did not stay put long enough for me to focus and shoot.

Overall I was pleased. A second try last week didn’t work out as well with the insects even less cooperative on a day that was too hot to be trying something new.

Click on any photo for larger view.