#orangeblossum

Tuliptree or Yellow Poplar.  Liriodendron tulipifera.  If you are a honeybeeist you know that this is your last big nectar producer of the spring and, as a tree, it can dominate nectar availability in forests at that time of year (earlier in the season it is usually dominated by the spring wildflowers/shrubs of the understory).  Deciduous forests, not fields, are where the action is in the spring in many Eastern habitats.  Of course, the native bee species are attracted to this tree too (or else why would the tree bother with all this nectar production?), but ... what are they?  Darn it, as far as I can tell from the weak literature and specimen label data, we really don't know, but it must be big!  Darn those tall trees.  Picture and specimen by Helen Lowe Metzman.