#corbiculae

Bees drink the nectar of our open-centered dahlias, and in doing so, they get crumbs of pollen on their faces and bodies. Female worker bumble bees (like this one) clean themselves by brushing the pollen into their pollen baskets (aka corbiculae or pollen sacs), moistened with saliva or nectar, to bring home to the family for later eating. This photo shows a big ball of moist pollen kept in place in the bee baskets on her hind legs by barbed hairs around a polished cavity. These balls of pollen can contain around one million individual protein-rich grains. As she moves on, stray pollen gets transferred to the next dahlia flowers, and this is how we get our seeds. #corbiculae #pollination #pollensac #pollenbasket #dahliaoftheday #cocoxochitl #honeybee #dahlia #bumblebee https://www.instagram.com/p/B11oLH1g3Mv/?igshid=1vd4y8ghtpg6p

Honeybees love to drink the nectar of our Broccoli Rabe, and in doing so, they get crumbs of pollen on their faces and bodies. Bees clean themselves by brushing the pollen into their pollen baskets (aka corbiculae or pollen sacs), moistened with saliva or nectar, to bring home to the family for later eating. This gets made into bee bread or ambrosia, and it is their primary food source. This first photo shows a big ball of moist pollen kept in place in the bee basket on her hind legs by barbed hairs around a polished cavity. These balls of pollen can contain around one million individual grains. As she moves on, stray pollen gets transferred to the next Broccoli Rabe flowers, and this is how we get our seeds. The last two photos are the first passion flower and echinacea flower of the year. #corbiculae #pollination #pollensac #pollenbasket #broccolirabe #honeybee https://www.instagram.com/p/ByK9oP9gBW7/?igshid=1g3svrrdddn9r