extreme caution needed

I found out back on a school trip many, many years ago that I am allergic to bee stings.  I had to be returned home from the trip after a really severe reaction to a sting - much to the amusement of my classmates of course.

And then several years later while out cycling, I felt an impact on my head and heard a buzzing inside my safety helmet.  Removing it and running my fingers through my (then lusciously thick) head of hair I was stung again.  I only realised it was a bee when I ended up falling off my bike and being violently sick at the side of the road!

So, whenever I see bees in my garden and I want to photograph them I am always über cautious.  And no more so when attempting a real close up just like the subject of today's image - a western honeybee on some sempiflora.

Fujifilm X-T2, TTArtisans 100mm f2.8 2x macro
1/200th of a second at f4, ISO 200
handheld

Fujifilm X-T2, TTArtisans 100mm f2.8 2x macro
1/120th of a second at f8, ISO 800
handheld