As I took in the beautiful field full of flowers, I noticed a bumblebee by the plants nearest me, quickly buzzing into blossom after blossom. That guy was fast! He would no more than stick his fuzzy head into one flower when he would be off to the next, lifting himself as if on an elevator made of air.
I realized there were a few more bees nearby. And then, as I lifted my eyes across the tops of the plants, I realized that the whole field was percolating with thousands of bees. That did my heart good!
I decided to see if I could photograph one of the bees. They were so fast that it was hard to get a fix on them before they moved on. They were often obscured by portions of the pea partridge plants. Finally I got a few decent pictures.
Even with my naked eye I was able to distinguish a yellow glob on the hind legs of the bees. "That must be pollen," I thought Sure enough. What I was seeing, and what you can see in these pictures, is thousands and thousands of grains of pollen packed into the pollen baskets that these amazing creatures are equipped with.
According to my research, bumblebees basicly lick their front legs and then use their front legs to brush all the pollen from their head and body down to their back legs, where it is pressed into the pollen basket.
Based on the size of the pollen globule on this fellow, he's been hard at work!
I realized there were a few more bees nearby. And then, as I lifted my eyes across the tops of the plants, I realized that the whole field was percolating with thousands of bees. That did my heart good!
I decided to see if I could photograph one of the bees. They were so fast that it was hard to get a fix on them before they moved on. They were often obscured by portions of the pea partridge plants. Finally I got a few decent pictures.
Even with my naked eye I was able to distinguish a yellow glob on the hind legs of the bees. "That must be pollen," I thought Sure enough. What I was seeing, and what you can see in these pictures, is thousands and thousands of grains of pollen packed into the pollen baskets that these amazing creatures are equipped with.
According to my research, bumblebees basicly lick their front legs and then use their front legs to brush all the pollen from their head and body down to their back legs, where it is pressed into the pollen basket.
Based on the size of the pollen globule on this fellow, he's been hard at work!
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| You can see the yellow, dusty pollen coating this bee's head, legs and body. |
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