Nancy Asquith
A mutually beneficial relationship
Mutually beneficial relationships provide relaxation for those blessed with them, and observing and photographing symbiotic relationships in nature is relaxing for me.
This bumblebee that seems to be hugging a coastal buckwheat (eriogonum latifolium) flower illustrates the essential role of pollinators in nature.
The beautiful petals of a flower exist to attract the bees or other pollinators needed for the plant to produce fertile seeds. Bees, of course, obtain essential nutrients from both nectar and pollen.
Recent decades have taught us much about interdependence in nature. Growing up in New York, I learned that my brother's hayfever was caused by brightly flowering goldenrod that grew wild near us. But the real culprit was, of course, the ragweed that grew in the same places at the same time. Ragweed's nondescript, green flowers drew little attention to it. Ragweed does not need to draw attention from pollinators, because it is wind-pollinated. It is said that a single ragweed plant may produce about a billion grains of pollen per season.
Photo taken in Santa Cruz, California
A mutually beneficial relationship
Mutually beneficial relationships provide relaxation for those blessed with them, and observing and photographing symbiotic relationships in nature is relaxing for me.
This bumblebee that seems to be hugging a coastal buckwheat (eriogonum latifolium) flower illustrates the essential role of pollinators in nature.
The beautiful petals of a flower exist to attract the bees or other pollinators needed for the plant to produce fertile seeds. Bees, of course, obtain essential nutrients from both nectar and pollen.
Recent decades have taught us much about interdependence in nature. Growing up in New York, I learned that my brother's hayfever was caused by brightly flowering goldenrod that grew wild near us. But the real culprit was, of course, the ragweed that grew in the same places at the same time. Ragweed's nondescript, green flowers drew little attention to it. Ragweed does not need to draw attention from pollinators, because it is wind-pollinated. It is said that a single ragweed plant may produce about a billion grains of pollen per season.
Photo taken in Santa Cruz, California