Bubbling on Yellow. Male Masked Bee, Hylaeus signatus, on Reseda lutea, Yellow Mignonette, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Masked Bees are really quite small and proportionately they can't carry very much. So in order to have greater lading capacity they will blow nectar bubbles; the water of those bubbles will evaporate in the bright Sun leaving their nutrients for Bee's lighter and more efficient load.
Here's Hylaeus signatus on its favorite flower, Reseda lutea or Yellow Mignonette. There are lots of specific Hylaeus Bees that can be distinguished by the shape of their masks. A recent field guide to Bees gives a plate with the various shapes for identification: Veldgids Bijen voor Nederland en Vlaanderen (2017) by Steven Falk.
The left top inset has an intricate and tiny Mignonette flower; lower right the entire Bee.
Bubbling on Yellow. Male Masked Bee, Hylaeus signatus, on Reseda lutea, Yellow Mignonette, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Masked Bees are really quite small and proportionately they can't carry very much. So in order to have greater lading capacity they will blow nectar bubbles; the water of those bubbles will evaporate in the bright Sun leaving their nutrients for Bee's lighter and more efficient load.
Here's Hylaeus signatus on its favorite flower, Reseda lutea or Yellow Mignonette. There are lots of specific Hylaeus Bees that can be distinguished by the shape of their masks. A recent field guide to Bees gives a plate with the various shapes for identification: Veldgids Bijen voor Nederland en Vlaanderen (2017) by Steven Falk.
The left top inset has an intricate and tiny Mignonette flower; lower right the entire Bee.