Jordan Lake Dam, Haw River: In the prior post, we looked at a whitestar morning-glory (native to NC) during the night, when it was resting and closed. In the growing daylight, the whitestar blossom begins to open. The blossom is almost irresistible to the eastern bumblebee. The bumblebee is just a little bit smaller than the wee whitestar blossom. There is an advantage to the whitestar in this tight fit. As the bumblebee wedges itself down into the flower, to reach the nectar, the insect picks up the pollen of the whitestar. The bumblebee backs out, carrying her load of pollen and heads for the next blossom. Pollination for the flower and nutrition for the bumblebee! The eastern bumblebee narrates her story and I think she does a fine job…
common eastern bumblebee
TagJordan Lake: Sloooow Bee
You know that saying about “busy as a bee”? Just for the fun of it I caught this common eastern bumblebee gathering pollen and slowed his flight down, a wee bit. It was great fun watching a pollinator at work!
