The bumblebees typically bolt so quickly from flower to flower that I needed lots of luck trying to get a shot of going in or coming out either one. At times I relied on the tell-tale shadows such as what's seen here through the flowers to tip me off as to when a bumblebee was about to emerge.

I spent a few hours snapping off photographs of bumblebees in the althea flowers. I got closer than I cared to get a few times. When you're hyper-focused on a bumblebee that's going to come out of a flower at any second, not wanting to miss the in-flight shot, you tend not to realize your shoulder is brushing up against a wasp. I actually missed a shot of a bumblebee fighting its' way out of a spider web he ran straight into when an even bigger bumblebee decided to run into the side of my head. At any rate, I'm uploading some of my favorites .... enjoy!