Bluebottle fly temperatures

Lord Vetinari

On the same morning that I'd been shooting been ice and frozen soap bubbles, I put some drops of sugar mixture on a camellia bush to see if there were any bugs about. Around 11.30am some flies appeared and I measured the temperatures using an infra red thermo- sensor and a shade thermometer.
Shade ground temperature -3.7'C
Shade air temperature + 3.2.C
Camellia leaf in sun + 12.C
Bluebottle fly on leaf in sun + 16.5.C
So the bluebottle flies were surprisingly warm
Brian V.

e6filmuser

Brian,

Lovely detail.

This compares with honeybees, which will forage down to about 13C and collect water down to about 10C. Theses are air temperatures, not sunny spots. The thresholds will vary with there needs and activity on preceding days.

Harold

Lord Vetinari

e6filmuser wrote: »

Brian,

Lovely detail.

This compares with honeybees, which will forage down to about 13C and collect water down to about 10C. Theses are air temperatures, not sunny spots. The thresholds will vary with there needs and activity on preceding days.

Harold

Thanks for the comments and info Harold.

Brian V.

latent

Lovely shot Brian. Had to do a double take. Reminded me of a shot I did a while ago.

Lord Vetinari

latent wrote: »

Lovely shot Brian. Had to do a double take. Reminded me of a shot I did a while ago.

Thanks
Brian v.

latent

Lord Vetinari wrote: »

Thanks
Brian v.

Oops!..just noticed I had not embedded my image.

GOLDENORFE

huge difference in temperatures Brian great shots

Lord Vetinari

latent wrote: »

Oops!..just noticed I had not embedded my image.

Does look very similar- even on a camellia leaf - lovely shot.
Brian V.

Lord Vetinari

GOLDENORFE wrote: »

huge difference in temperatures Brian great shots

Thanks Phil
Just wondered how warm insects get in the sun.
Brian V.