University of California
The California Backyard Orchard
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High-Wire Act
It’s like going to the circus.
A bee circus.
When you see honey bees gather pollen from a gaura (Gaura linheimeri), it’s as if they ran off and joined the circus. You'll see hire-wire (er...high-stem) acts, somersaults, pirouettes, cartwheels and cliffhangers.
They teeter on the edge of a petal and then petal-push to the other side. They buzz upside down and then right themselves. They're under the Big Top and then varoom, they've over it.
The gaura, a leggy perennial, is a native of North America and a member of the Onagraceae family. Its butterflylike flowers, pink and white, are drop-dead gorgeous.
The gaura is also known as "the wand flower," "the butterfly bush" and "the bee blossom."
In our bee friendly garden, it will forever be "the circus flower."
Heading in
Ah, a gaura!
Under the Big Top
Balancing act
Upside down
High-wire act
