Be my honey-bee

@JudyEv (342179)

Rockingham, Australia

August 30, 2016 1:28am CST

I thought you might like this photo of a bee in the leptospermum bush that is in our garden. There are many varieties of leptospermum or ti-trees as they are commonly called. There are single- and double-flowered types, most of which are found in Australia. The flowers can be white, pink or red and the great benefit for us is that the kangaroos don't like them. The evergreen foliage is quite sharp. It gets the common name of ti-tree or tea tree as early settlers would use the leaves of some species to make a herbal tea which was rich in Vitamin C or ascorbic acid.

30 people like this

31 responses

@xFiacre (13162)

• Ireland

30 Aug 16

@judyev That's beautiful. Isn't the natural world just so entertaining!! Far better than watching TV.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

30 Aug 16

'Miraculous' is always what comes to mind when I see tiny things in more detail.

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@marlina (154130)

• Canada

30 Aug 16

Nature is a lot more spectacular than any "fancy" shows on TV.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

30 Aug 16

@marlina I couldn't agree more.

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@simone10 (54187)

• Louisville, Kentucky

31 Aug 16

The flowers are quite beautiful. I wish they grew here in the U.S. Also that's a great picture of the bee.

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@simone10 (54187)

• Louisville, Kentucky

2 Sep 16

@JudyEv Yes it is! I love the flowers as I have never seen any like that before.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

It's a great photo isn't it? And I love the colour although I think I prefer the softer pink one.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Sep 16

@simone10 That is interesting as it is common here. One of the pleasures of being on MyLot.

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@epiffanie (11326)

• Australia

31 Aug 16

Beautiful flowers! I haven't seen them around here.. but the bees are busy around here lately too

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@epiffanie (11326)

• Australia

2 Sep 16

@JudyEv oh I see ..

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

They aren't particularly attractive once they stop flowering so may not be popular in public spaces.

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@sofssu (23662)

•

30 Aug 16

So this is from where we get our tea tree oil.. Those flowers look very pretty ( I should say dramatic) . Lovely picture.

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@sofssu (23662)

•

30 Aug 16

@JudyEv So these are not the same trees? So confusing and thanks for letting me know.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

30 Aug 16

@sofssu Yes, it is confusing. I wish they wouldn't do this. It makes it hard to explain too.

@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

30 Aug 16

I think the tea tree oil comes from shrubs of the Melaleuca family. Sometimes the same names get used for different trees.

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@Jessicalynnt (50523)

• Centralia, Missouri

30 Aug 16

is that the same tea tree that the bark gets made into oil for skin conditions?

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@Jessicalynnt (50523)

• Centralia, Missouri

31 Aug 16

@JudyEv lol, gotcha. I love tea tree oil, great for skin things that dont want to heal up

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

No, there is a melaleuca also called tea tree - just to make things confusing. The oil comes from the melaleuca.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

@Jessicalynnt I must admit I haven't tried it. I have eucalyptus oil which is good for taking the residue sticky stuff off new items - where the price ticket was stuck.

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@RubyHawk (99405)

• Atlanta, Georgia

31 Aug 16

I don't believe I've seen flowers like those. Is that what ti tree oil is made from?

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

From what I've read ti tree oil comes a melaleuca which is a different genus and species although they all belong to the myrtle family. It's confusing when 'ti tree' can mean either species.

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@RubyHawk (99405)

• Atlanta, Georgia

1 Sep 16

@JudyEv i haven't used it but some people use ti tree oil.

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@marguicha (223825)

• Chile

30 Aug 16

You are a master photographer! The picture is beautiful.

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@marguicha (223825)

• Chile

30 Aug 16

@JudyEv Congratulations to him!

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

30 Aug 16

My husband took this photo but he lets me use them. :)

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Belle Starr (Iz)

@BelleStarr (61101)

• United States

5 Sep 16

Gorgeous photo but of course I would expect nothing less from Vince.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

5 Sep 16

He's getting quite a name for himself on here.

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crazyhorseladycx

@crazyhorseladycx (39509)

• United States

30 Aug 16

gorgeous photo, those flowers're quite stunnin'.

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crazyhorseladycx

@crazyhorseladycx (39509)

• United States

31 Aug 16

@JudyEv the flowers almost don't look real, lol. i wonder if'n such'd grow'n these parts outdoors? ne'er mind... i've more'n plenty that've the need to be hauled 'ndoors each autumn 'n i'm runnin' outta room :)

@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

They're very pretty. The foliage is quite coarse, almost prickly.

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Claudia Kirkland

@CRK109 (14556)

• United States

31 Aug 16

I really do love that photo, and I'm intrigued by the name of that species! I'd never heard of it before.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

Maybe it's Australian although many of these plants seem to eventually turn up all over the world.

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Claudia Kirkland

@CRK109 (14556)

• United States

3 Sep 16

@JudyEv well it's new to me! But I'll keep on the lookout!

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@thelme55 (77164)

• Germany

31 Aug 16

Beautiful photo! Thanks for the information about this flower.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

I've just seen your video on your garden and it is lovely too. Glad you enjoyed it.

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@responsiveme (22926)

• India

31 Aug 16

The flowers are lovely, first heardit from you in one of your earlier posts. Do you the leaves to make tea?

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

I don't think any one does nowadays but when the explorers ran out of tea when they were traipsing through the bush they would have used it as a substitute.

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@snehakeshri (449)

• Mumbai, India

31 Aug 16

honey bees are very beautiful creature usually seen in roses

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

Yes, they certainly like roses.

@5thHouse (1678)

• Sheffield, England

4 Sep 16

That's a stunning image. I love photographing bees and butterflies myself.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

4 Sep 16

To me, the flowers look almost like they're ceramic. Thanks for reading.

Arthur Chappell

@arthurchappell (44998)

• Preston, England

30 Aug 16

exceptional macro-photography and lovely flowers too

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

Vin bought a new lens recently although I don't it's specifically a macro lens. He is on a couple of FB photography sites so has been enjoying putting up a photo to match the 'theme' for each day.

@Letranknight2015 (52079)

• Philippines

30 Aug 16

I make my own moringa leaves tea with adding only cream and sugar. Nice flower btw but we don't have that unfortunately, lucky for you.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

I've been hearing a lot about moringa and how good it is for you.

@LadyDuck (472087)

• Switzerland

30 Aug 16

This photo is beautiful Judy. You can see the small wings of the bee moving. Also the color of the flowers is incredible.

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

Some of these tiny flowers are so intricate. Once we download such a photo we often zoom up on the flowers and the detail is incredible.

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Vicki, #1 Creek Girl

@1creekgirl (41753)

• United States

30 Aug 16

What a gorgeous photo! I've never seen flowers like that before. Do they grow anywhere else than in Australia?

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

Wikipedia says 'endemic to Australia' but there is a species native to New Zealand and I think New Guinea. There are also cultivars available but I could only find mention of them being available in New Zealand.

1 person likes this

@jillybean1222 (6407)

•

30 Aug 16

ok, i got stung by a bee yesterday.... so i'm not a fan today of bees. :-) plus, i think i have an allergy, though surprisingly, i didn't react as bad as i expected yesterday. perhaps it is because i took the benedryl so quickly

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@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

I swell up if I get bitten too so I try to keep away from them. A bee sting is very bad news for some.

@andriaperry (117146)

• Anniston, Alabama

31 Aug 16

AWESOME! I love this one.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342179)

• Rockingham, Australia

31 Aug 16

It's very beautiful isn't it?