You might be able to find a good used digital camera that had good features but not the 'latest and greatest' advances [i.e., a camera that has been traded in by a new-gadget-oriented shutterbug] to solve your problem.

I've got a Nikon that originally would have been beyond your price range, but it's 3 years old, and I've found that 5 megapixels is perfectly fine for getting lovely close-ups of bees. I've found that setting the focus on a set of flowers _before_ the actual shot also increases the likelihood that when the bee arrives, I'm ready to shoot.

If you can get close enough, I found that a Olimpus Camedia set on the macro setting works well. Ours is a sorry 3.5mpx but I printed a huge 16x20) beautiful backlit broodframe picture from it with some help from Photoshop. Even sold a few. Had to get all bundled up in a beesuit though.

I have an older Nikon ( Coolpix 950 )On the flower setting, I can take things fairly close.
I think it's only 2.2 megapixels.....
Here are a few:
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those are awesome!!! Would it be ok if I saved some to my picture file on the computer? Just thought I would ask first.

wow, carol!!!!!!!!!!!!! i especially love the dragonfly on the poppy. i can't believe that is a 2.2 mp.

where would someone go to find trade in cameras?