Wednesday, November 12, 2008

No such thing as a 'free lunch'



Here we have a bee burrowing right in to drink nectar from nectaries at the very base of the flower. For the bee, its the equivalent of stopping off at the pub on the way home from work.

You may have noticed that hollyhocks make masses of pollen. As the bee burrows in, he cant help but get covered in it! After he leaves this flower, he will order another pint at the next flower - thus bringing pollen from one flower to the next.

So the bee thinks he is getting a free lunch, and the hollyhock gets what it needs to set a big crop of seeds.

8 comments:

BetteJo said...

... and you get a very drunk bee! No? Oh, metaphor, I get it! :)
But it IS a fun idea to picture.

Anonymous said...

Stunning photo! A thanks to the bees for seeds, fruits, and all other plant reprodution goodies.

kj said...

it's all so amazing.

what's the lesson, lavender?? inquiring minds want to know...

:)

Sharon said...

What a vibrant color! Lucky for us bees love to imbibe!

Anonymous said...

I just found you blog by surfing. Can't keep from watching it. Congratulations on the fantastic photographs. You really got the right eye for it... Thank you!

Lavender said...

BetteJo Actually as it turns out, I highly suspect they ARE drunk! Teeheehee

flowergardengirlcom So right! We wouldnt be here without them...Thanks for stopping by!

KJ :) The lesson is just to observe, and imagine - at least I hope thats what people get from all this stuff - fingers crossed! :)

Sharon True! I wonder what colour flowers will come from the seeds this bee made - its all so amazing! Good to see you out and about Sharon.

areerio Thank you very much, say, thats a nice picture of a queen bee on your blog today - nice shot! I hop eyou have much success with your beekeeping.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting my site. Actually your blog inspired me to do it. You will also get to know my three budgies, my turtle and all my flowers, since I have tons of fotos that nobody looked at so far. :-)) Thanks and see you around. Stephan

Lavender said...

areeiro Oh wow, thank you very much! I am looking forward to seeing your pics and meeting your budgies and turtle - very cool!