14th
2008
Macro Photography yields interesting observation: While playing around with the camera (70-200mm lens with 20mm + 12mm extension tubes), I observed a green metallic bee on a Potentilla flower exhibiting some interesting behavior. Now, I’ve seen these bees on many different flowers, and they generally bee-bop from anther to anther, but this bee would find an anther and wrap itself around the anther in a tight hug as if to collect as much pollen as possible. The other flowers that I have observed these bees on (Mallow, Astilbe, and Tickseed) all have anthers that the bees just have to brush against to release the pollen. But, the Potentilla anthers tuck the pollen between two fleshy plates. The 4 photos below this one show the bee’s actions on the anther.
