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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Pollinator

So, what exactly is a pollinator? The technical definition of a pollinator is the biotic agent that facilitates the process by which plant pollen is transferred from the male reproductive organs of a flower to the female reproductive organs of a flower to form seeds. Is that still too confusing?

Well, the bee in the above picture is a pollinator. I'll give a simple explanation for any of you who don't know how this works. Bees have a mutual agreement with flowers. They get to collect all of the sweet nectar from the flower that they want, but they also have to take as much pollen with them as they can carry. This way both of them benefit.

The nectar is high protein food for the young of the bees, which they obviously really need. And the transfer of pollen from one flower to another is the way flowers reproduce. So bees are the little gardeners that are responsible for most of the wildflowers that we see. It works out very well for both. More flowers mean more bees, and more bees mean more flowers.

Here you can see this bee really getting in there to collect as much pollen as it can hold. I actually came across this scene by sheer accident. I haven't been to this particular park in over a week, and I haven't had time to see the growth of wildflowers yet this year, until now.

I don't consider myself very knowledgeable with plants quite yet, but I'm probably much better than my self-critical opinion. When I saw these flowers I set out to get a few pictures just to see what came out when I would get to see them. I really never intended to be able to share them, thinking they wouldn't be very good shots.

But then I saw this bee digging around the flowers, so I set my camera lense in its direction. These were more pictures that I didn't think would come out very well. I thought maybe they would be blurry and maybe not anything special. But then I looked at them and saw this pollen covered bee in better shots than I ever hoped for.

Bees are some of the most colorful insects in existence. Insects are all very colorful and interesting if we are able to get a close look. It feels good to be able to share this one with you today. This one is a dull color for a bee but it makes up for it, and then some, by having all of this pollen all over it. Look at the top of its head!

It's amazing the kind of things you can find in nature on a day that you expected to be nothing but quiet. I spent the whole time I was out there following bugs of different kinds. A butterfly even tried to land on my head, several times! I didn't let that happen, but I did get a few pictures of that friendly creature too!

Flowers and pollen covered bees on a very nice late spring day. Not too hot and not too cold. What more could anyone ask for? If you'd like a little more about bees, by coincidence yesterday's Cool Nature Video at Nature Center Magazine showed the inner workings of a honey bee hive.

Nature Center Magazine - Today Emma brings you a new Nature Site of The Week. Go see what her featured site is this week. If you visit the featured site and leave a comment, they might just return the favor. And you could even make a new friend.

17 comments:

  1. Ratty those are some nice close-ups. Don't forget the honey bees produce too, don't know about you but I love it. I have even had wild bee honey here in Thailand. Not I hasten to add collected by me.

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  2. Both the flower and the bee are beautiful, great shots Ratty.

    If you notice on the back leg of the bee in your first photo you can see the pollen sac. Watching a bee fill her pollen sacs is an amazing thing.

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  3. Man, you are really getting good with that close up setting on your camera. These are really nice pictures.

    One note, I think bees collect nectar to store and eat the sugar content. They store it by letting the nectar evaporate on their tongues and then placing it in the honey comb for later use. Protein is derived from the pollen, which is often fed to the young bees being reared in the nest or hive.

    One of your best posts, Ratty! I just love the little stuff that often goes unnoticed.

    Bill:www.wildramblings.com

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  4. Great shots! Both the bee and the flower! Nice job!

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  6. As she flew on her way, the pollinator is said to have said, "I'll bee back." Great shots Ratty! I tried to get some bee shots on the rhododendron, but they were shy and hid from me. I'm glad you had such good luck.

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  7. I have attended a biology class. Thank you teacher.

    No, you must be a teacher cum good photograher cum daily adventurer.

    You are a "pollinator" too. You transfer knowledge and joy around.

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  8. I like the honey, a bee regurgitates for us.You can see their pollen collections on larger bees easier, as well as on other pollinators. I like when they get in thistle and turn purple.

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  9. Very nice shots. Up close and personal I'm not real crazy about bugs but when I capture them with the camera I'm fascinated at what I see. They really are quite incredible.

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  10. These are wonderful shots, although I have to mention I am horribly allergic to pollen and I'm reaping the benefits of these little creatures dropping it on the roof of my home. They are still amazing creatures.

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  11. I see you are getting pretty handy with those closeups! :)

    That bee reminds me of my human - she works hard, but she's also very messy. ;-)

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  12. I love these photos. I have one of these too. It's fun taking photos of bees... challenging.

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  13. Bees are also very hard working insect too. They only attack when they disturbed. Nice coverage Ratty :)

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  14. Great bee shots! We have to appreciate our bees since without them, we'd pretty much have no fruits or vegetables. Great post!

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  15. awesome shots! the bee must have been really preoccupied with the flower :)

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  16. Ratty, Wow, fantastic closeups. You caught every detail and they are just amazing.

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  17. Wow.. beautiful pics. I knew about pollination but this is my first time seeing a bee totally covered in pollen. Thanks for your interesting lesson on nature Ratty. ^__^

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