I have always been fascinated by bumblebees and whenever I get the opportunity I try to photograph these chubby insects. It’s not always so easy because they can be very camera shy and get annoyed if you get too close.

In the first picture you can see a bumblebee relaxing on a leave. If you click the picture and look at it large you can see that bumblebees have claw like feet. Must be great to have feet like that when you are clinging to flowers.

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on May 6th, 2007. Click picture for larger view.

Here you can see a bumblebee head down in a crocus flower (mooning to the camera!). Notice the pollen on its behind. Bumblebees are important pollinators in nature.
They are also been used as pollinators in agriculture. When I studied organic farming we had a bumblebee nest inside the tomato greenhouse to pollinate our tomato plants. Let me tell you that the bumblebees did a fantastic job. Never tasted such yummy tomatoes before.

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on July 29th, 2007. Click picture for larger view.

Here you can see a bumblebee feeding on tansy flowers (Tanacetum vulgare).
According to Wikipedia bumblebees are endangered in many countries because of the destruction of natural habitats and the use of pesticides.
So please stop using pesticides and look into organic farming/gardening

Information about the pictures:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Andørja, Troms in northern Norway