#Bumblebees only store a few days' worth of pollen and nectar. When their stores run low, they may bite the leaves of such plants as tomatoes or mustards, which can cause the flowers to bloom days to weeks earlier. The hungry #bees repeatedly bite the leaves and stretch the holes. It's possible that this stress accelerates flowering. Researchers have tried to replicate the effect but failed. Whatever secret sauce the bumblebees use remains a mystery. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pollen-deprived-bumblebees-may-speed-plant-blooming-biting-leaves
All of these were photographed (by me) in my small suburban garden.
I wanted to post this to show that #biodiversity does still exist. With all the climate doom & gloom in the news it sometimes feels really hopeless. Like a battle we've already lost.
But the butterflies are still here. So are the bees & other vital pollinators. It's not too late to protect them.
Gardens don't have to be expensive or elaborate to provide them a home. What matters is that we create space for #pollinators in our landscaped lives. Just adding a few flowers can make all the difference & help ensure these lovely creatures continue to survive.
Went out to feed the birds this a.m. & saw something "mounted" to a back porch support beam. Closer inspection revealed it was a very large #moth. My ID app suggests Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) with an average wingspan of 6". It was just chilling during the a.m. storms. I hoped it would open up but it just stayed motionless. It was quite dark so the pics aren't the best. Antennae are very cool!
(05/02/24)
One of the biggest bees I have ever seen in my life. Probably Nevada Bumble Bee (Bombus nevadensis)? One of the largest in North America. Queens reach nearly 1 inch long. And. The. Sound. She. Made!! Wow.
Mary’s Peak, Oregon #PNW#pollinators#Bees#BeeScrolling#BloomScrolling
I was idly reading our local newsletter at lunchtime. In between the garage door /new kitchen type adverts was the news that our town council has declared itself pesticide-free! It will stop using pesticides and reduce mowing etc to help pollinators. It is also going to produce a pesticide-free gardening guide for residents and run a kerbside pesticide amnesty so people can dispose of pesticides and weed killers. Good things do happen in Newton Abbot!
If you happen to see leaves in your garden with these circular holes cut out of them, don’t fret: these are signs of leaf cutter bees. They actually cut circular discs of leaves to line their nests sometime between mid spring and mid summer. They’re vitally important pollinators and they are struggling. Tell them by the perfect circles they leave (1st image), as opposed to root weevil damage (2nd image).
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This little bumblebee showed up today on my coneflowers. Very late in the year for a bumblebee, it's been a few weeks since I saw the last one, which would have been a Hunt's bumblebee. This one appears to be a tri-coloured bumblebee (Bombus ternarius), although I'd be interested if someone has an alternate suggestion.
The American chestnut tree was a huge part of the east coast forest system. And then chestnut blight arrived killing the trees. #DunstanChestnut trees are an attempt to reintroduce the trees. We planted several on the advice of the nursery. This photo is the healthiest tree. This young tree has many chestnuts. There must have been piles of chestnuts under a mature tree. #rewilding, #Minnesota, #Zone4b, #NativePlants, #GrowYourOwn, #Chestnut, #Pollinators, #PunkTrees.
Seems likely they are more "flighty" in the spring and early summer when the flowers are a bit sparser. But if you're patient you'll eventually come across one feeding calmly.
(06/03/24)
For the #SciArtSeptember prompt “metallic” my linocut Osmia lignaria, the metallic blue orchard mason bee.
We think of bees as living in hives, but these bees live in reeds or natural holes which they divide into chambers with mud walls. We also tend to picture yellow and black stripes, but this small bee is blue to blue-green. 🧵1/2
Given my inordinate fondness for #pollinators of #cacao, I was very excited to discover a UK "cousin" in my office today, hanging out on the windowframe. Beautiful female Ceratopogonidae (did not attempt ID). I have a theory that if we were able to farm #cocoa in the UK, species of #Ceratopogonidae already present here would turn up and start visiting the flowers. UK has over 150 Ceratopogonidae species, including members of the main genera considered to pollinate cacao in the tropics.
I've decided to stop buying into #climate#doomism, after many years of not being able to avoid feeling and spreading it.
Instead, I've been reading up on individual efforts, and it's amazing what individuals and their communities can accomplish. I want to do what they're doing.