View allAll Photos Tagged pollinator
Students learned how hummingbirds and various insects support our ecosystem with their cross-pollination.
"Bees are not only working for our welfare, they are also perfect indicators of the state of the environment. We should take note."
"It is not a sudden problem, I has been happening for a few years now. Five years ago in Germany there were a million hives, now there are less than 800,000. If that continues there will eventually be no bees."
~German bee expert Professor Joergen Tautz from Wurzburg University
Fortunately for me, this bee took its sweet time (pun intended) on this one flower. Great because my lens isn't fast enough for moving objects.
A Four-toothed Mason Wasp, Monobia quadridens, is joined by two tiny male sweat bees, Lasioglossum sp., on flowers of White Snakeroot. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, September 11, 2022.
June 18th in the Double Walled Garden - or Pollinator Park - at the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
Jen has some strawberry vines out in the garden and I was out looking for something to shoot and post today I spotted the ants were working on the flower and thought they would make a fine addition to my photo post for today. Looks like Jen is going to have a good harvest this year.
Female Lasloglossum bee (Parasphecodes) with pollinia on Eriochilus helonomos Swamp bunny orchid Windy Harbour Rd Northcliffe WA near Lookout Rock
Saw these 'bugs' seemingly pollinating a flower as I walked down the street
Further research suggests they are Trigona carbonaria .. an Australian native stingless bee
Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison, "Pollination", 1998, gelatin silver print with mixed media, 26" x 47". Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc. Image courtesy of the artists.
The two pictures above were taken at Mount Auburn Cemetery of two unidentified flowers and their evolutionary companions.
Perhaps the most important parts of plant species survival is the ability to reproduce. In the case of plants the transfer of genetic material is passed through what is known as pollen which is a sticky grainy substance residing on the stamen of flowering plants. The transfer of pollen from one plant to another can fall under one of two categories, biotic or abiotic. The less common of the two is abiotic and occurs in only about 10% of flowering plants; in this case the pollen is not transferred using another organism as a mediatory. Abiotic pollination is caused by wind 98% of the time and by water 2% of the time. The more common way flowering plants pollinate is biotical, through the use of other organisms.
The images above are an example of biotic pollination where the insects are collecting nectar from the plant and at the same time causing pollen to stick to their bodies. As each insect moves to another flower it will shed some of its previously acquired pollen as well as collect some new.
Sources: Class notes and Wikipedia.
A couple of photos of a bee-mimic hoverfly from back in September. A great example of how insects pollinate plants with all the pollen stuck to its legs and underside (and even some on its eyes!)
The best I can do for an ID is that it's an eristalis of some description.