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| Bumble bee robbing nectar |
Some flower visitors don't hesitate to rob nectar without
paying their dues. They either don't bother or can't enter the flower the
"legitimate" way, and thus, ensure picking up pollen along the way
and delivering it to the next flower. Instead they take a shortcut, slashing
the throat of the flower and going right to the source. Carpenter bees can be
among the most notorious robbers because of their strong and sharp mouth parts
that enable them to perforate the walls of a flower; but other large insects
can be just as bad.
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| Abelia flowers with slashed throats |
Tubular or trumpet shaped flowers are the most frequent
victims of this larceny because their nectar is hard to reach. Here are some
abelias that have been robbed. You can see the scar at the base of the flower.
Sometimes smaller bees or other insects take advantage of the
shortcut and visit the wound, like this beetle, which also happens to
parasitize the nests of bumble bees.
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| Sap-feeding beetle Epuraea aestiva |
In this case something more tragic happened. A small bug
ventured deep inside the flower and became tangled, its legs sticking out of
the hole, and unable to go in or out or turn around. I thought that I may be
able to help it and by the way find out the identity of the victim; but my
clumsy old fingers couldn't perform this delicate task. I never found out who
this innocent bystander was. Any guesses?
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| An insect trapped inside the flower |
Beginners Guide to Pollinators and Other Flower Visitors
© Beatriz Moisset. 2012
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