Bees and blossoms go together, and truly they are going. It is almost fall and the number of species of bees and flowers blooming have decreased noticibly in the past while. I haven't noticed any, ANY, native bees in my garden excepting bumblebees for over two weeks. On a hike up a mountain over the weekend, there was some small native bee ( type not known) collecting pollen on goldenrod, and I was cheered by seeing her even though I know she is probably doomed. Her pollen load is most likely packed into a cell along with an egg that will develop and hatch next summer sometime. In the meantime, non-native honeybees are frenetically collecting pollen and especially nectar from goldenrods and asters, among the latest wildflowers to bloom in Maine, and very important sources of food for the overwintering cluster in the hive. In fact, in years when the numbers of goldenrod and aster flowers are down or during a drought and no nectar is produced, many hives are likely to starve, adding to the stresses that this important pollinator has to deal with. This year appears to be a good one from the amount of glorious glowing goldenrod and purple-to-white asters now in fields and roadsides in the midcoast area. And they are still blooming in my garden too!
Here are a few photos of bees on flowers still in bloom in the garden....
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| Bumblebee female on annual sunflower,"Zebulon." |
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| Male bumblebee (I think) on Anise Hyssop |
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| Bumblebee flying with tongue extended toward Salvia hormonium blossom |
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| Honeybee on Rudbeckia, "Prairie Sun" |
wonderful photos! how are your hives honey stores looking going into the fall?
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