Photobombus

I was trying to photograph the Bergenia flowers but was removing a few old stalks that were in the way when this big beauty appeared, clinging onto the flower stem by a single claw. It must have been at least inch long.

I gave it some support with a piece of the dead stalk (extra photo) and it climbed - oh, so slowly - onto the flower head but was holding its middle leg an a strange angle. Had I damaged it when removing those stalks? Was it already hurt? It wasn't moving much, so was it actually dying?

I took several photos (most of which were rubbish, due to the low angle and my inability to kneel down, wearing my good trousers, though had I done so I would have been unable to get up again) watching as it seemed more secure on the petals. Then it moved that leg back into a normal position.

I had just decided to leave it to its fate when it suddenly took off, flew high towards the house, did a loop and came back and landed on the Berberis just behind me.

So it was all right really but my blip is of a very large bumblebee (queen Red-tailed, Bombus lapidarius) instead of the Bergenia.