Center Stage - _TNY_1164 (In Explore 7/4 2020)
Here's a bit of a favourite shot of mine. This is a European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) at the center of a star-shaped and hairy (we'll get back to the hair later) flower on a houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum).
The reason there is a "European" in the name is that this old-world species has established itself in both North and Sout America as well.
What is special about this species is the mating system. The females are polyandric, ie they continuously mate with different males throughout their reproductive life, and mating is linked to males upholding a territory of flowers with hairs on them like lambs ears or houseleeks like in this case. Smaller males who can't compete often try and use more sneaky tactics to rush in when the dominant male isn't looking.
Males very aggressively chase others (not just other males but bumblebees and even larger insects) away and when the females come to gather hairs for the nests they mate. This male be is actually larger than the female which is very unusual in bees. Also, males have four short spines on the back of the abdomen which is used as weapons when defending their territory.
I have accumulated quite a few shots of these guys over the years and made an album of them here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/albums/72157667862870066
Center Stage - _TNY_1164 (In Explore 7/4 2020)
Here's a bit of a favourite shot of mine. This is a European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) at the center of a star-shaped and hairy (we'll get back to the hair later) flower on a houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum).
The reason there is a "European" in the name is that this old-world species has established itself in both North and Sout America as well.
What is special about this species is the mating system. The females are polyandric, ie they continuously mate with different males throughout their reproductive life, and mating is linked to males upholding a territory of flowers with hairs on them like lambs ears or houseleeks like in this case. Smaller males who can't compete often try and use more sneaky tactics to rush in when the dominant male isn't looking.
Males very aggressively chase others (not just other males but bumblebees and even larger insects) away and when the females come to gather hairs for the nests they mate. This male be is actually larger than the female which is very unusual in bees. Also, males have four short spines on the back of the abdomen which is used as weapons when defending their territory.
I have accumulated quite a few shots of these guys over the years and made an album of them here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/albums/72157667862870066