We are on day 37 of the Coronavirus shutdown. What should the topic of today be?
Bees! lol. Yes, we should talk about bees.
I'm starting to think that the weather is also under quarantine. Yesterday I woke up to close to an inch of snow. April 22nd and snow! Very weird. Well, today I woke up and found this little honeybee on my windowsill. Sooooo..... Is it winter or spring? I haven't a clue anymore. Nature is all messed up this year.
On the plus side this photo came out great! And it wasn't taken with any kind of high tech camera. Just my cell phone. You can even see the pollen on this little bee's leg. Pollen stuck to the hair of a honey bee aids in pollination. It also makes it easier for honey bees to collect the pollen they need for food. Honey bees moisten the hairs on their front legs and brush the pollen to their back legs. The sticky mass of pollen that is formed is compressed into the pollen baskets. The pollen basket is an arrangement of hairs found on the tibia of the hind legs of some bees. The bees collect pollen and, having moistened it with saliva using their tongues, they transfer it to their hind legs and pack it into the pollen basket. By packing pollen in this manner they compact it so that it can be easily carried back to the hive or nest.
And fun fact, only female bee's collect pollen. So that photo I took is of a female honeybee.
Now, if you want to help dwindling honeybee populations, ecologists are encouraging that you learn to love weeds and leave the dandelions alone this coming spring. Working to live in harmony with nature can be as simple as keeping your lawn "pollinator" friendly.
Thank you for reading. Please stay well and healthy! And try to do your part to help make the world a little better. Leave the dandelions for the bees!
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