Description
A male long-horned bee on Douglas aster, positioned so that both antennae read clearly — curving up and back past the thorax, which is the field mark that identifies the group at a glance.
There is a second male badge in this frame, and once you know it you will start seeing it everywhere. The pale cream patch on his face — the clypeus, the plate between the eyes and above the mouth — is a male trait shared across a remarkable number of unrelated bee families. Yellow or cream on the face, in bee after bee, means male.
And one thing worth knowing if he lands on you: he cannot sting. A bee’s sting is a modified ovipositor, an egg-laying structure. Males never had one. Every bee that has ever stung anybody was female, which means this individual is entirely harmless and completely unaware of it.
Photographed at Oaks Bottom in August, on Symphyotrichum subspicatum.
What you will receive: a high-resolution JPEG, 3488 x 2400 pixels — sharp enough to print at full photo quality up to about 11.5 × 8 inches at 300 DPI, and considerably larger for wall display. Delivered as an instant download the moment your order is complete.
License: Personal use only. Print it for your own home, use it as a wallpaper or screen background, enjoy it yourself. Not licensed for commercial use, resale, redistribution, or AI training. © Jonathan Swanson / JonSwan Productions. All rights reserved.