A fact not everyone may know is that bees don’t just feed on the nectar that gives them energy. No, they’re quite partial to the pollen itself too, which like the meat in one’s sandwich, gives them – and more importantly their larvae – protein for growing plus other nutrients.
Bees are quite single-minded in what they want. They tend to focus either on gathering pollen or on gathering nectar, with deliberate pollen-gatherers proving the more efficient pollinators. Incredibly, an estimated one third of the human food supply rests on the tiny shoulders of the bee, particularly the domesticated European honey bee.
But it’s not the shoulders of the bee that really shoulder the burden. The characteristic that makes bees look more loveable than most insects to our mammalian eyes – their fuzziness – is actually part of nature’s design to make them the exceptional pollinators that they are. Because most bees are fuzzy, they carry an electrostatic charge which helps the pollen to stick.
These picture are awesome!
Great pictures!