Posts Tagged: nectar
Surprising Research Results: What the Microbes in Nectar Revealed
It's surprising what the microbes in nectar can reveal. Take the nectar of the sticky...
Researchers studied the microbes in the nectar of the sticky monkeyflower, Mimulus auranticus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What a Stretch to Get the Nectar!
How often do you see a honey bee "standing upright" to reach nectar? "Well, I guess I could just...
A honey bee "stands upright" to reach the nectar on a Photinia blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Okay, I'll buzz over to it. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sharing the Nectar--But Not All at the Same Time
Everybody eats in the pollinator garden. Maybe not at the same time, but they all eat. We noticed...
A syrphid fly (bottom right) heads toward a Mexican sunflower occupied by a honey bee. The fly, aka hover fly and flower fly, wants some nectar, too.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Can we share? As the honey bee keeps nectaring, the syrphid comes in for a taste. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All mine! The honey bee wins. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All mine! The syprhid fly takes over. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All mine! A drone fly claims it. The drone fly is often mistaken for a bee. Note the "H" on the abdomen of the fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
When Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries (Cherry Laurels)
It's definitely a bee friendly plant, packed with nectar and pollen. The cherry laurel, Prunus...
A backlit honey bee, its tongue or proboscis extended, heads for cherry laurel blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The anticipation of nectar and pollen is intense. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Touchdown! Pollen and nectar on the cherry laurel. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Robbing the Nectar
It's the easy way to do it. A carpenter bee heads for a foxglove blossom and drills a hole in the...
A honey bee looking for a hole drilled by a carpenter bee in the corolla of a foxglove. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Still searching--the honey bee is getting closer to finding the hole pierced by a carpenter bee.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Found it! Ah, sweet nectar! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)