Bee what makes you beautiful

Flies, wasps , moths, beetles and even some birds, bats and lizards all pollinate, but they only visit flowers enough to feed themselves. Because they gather pollen to stock their nests, bees are generally the most effective pollinators since they visit many more flowers and carry more pollen between them. Some bee species are also specially developed to pollinate particular plants and without them those plants would be less well-pollinated.

Many bees have different characteristics that make them suited to pollinate certain plants. For example, the Early bumblebee's small size and agility allow it to enter plants with drooping flowers such as comfrey. Garden bumblebees are better at pollinating the deep flowers of honeysuckle and foxgloves than most other species because their longer tongue can reach deep inside them.

Many farmers rely on a diversity of bees to pollinate their produce. For example, commercial apple growers benefit from the free pollination services of the Red mason bee. This species can be times more efficient at pollinating apple blossoms than honeybees. There is evidence that natural pollination by the right type of bee improves the quality of the crop - from its nutritional value to its shelf life.

For example, bumblebees and solitary bees feed from different parts of strawberry flowers. In combination they produce bigger, juicier and more evenly-shaped strawberries. Some bee species have an affinity to particular plants, so need particular natural habitats.

For example, in the UK the scabious bee, our largest mining bee, needs the pollen of field scabious or small scabious to provision its young. These plants grow on sandy or chalky open grassland, an important habitat for a variety of bees and wildflowers that is under threat from changing land use. The loss of particular habitats like this is the main driver of bee decline. In a world without bees we would probably survive. But our existence would be more precarious and our diets would be dull, poorer and less nutritious.

And not just for want of honey. Even some plants grown to feed to livestock for meat production, such as clover and alfalfa, depend at least partly on bee pollination. Many patterns on flowers are invisible to humans. In fact, some flowers such as sunflowers, primroses and pansies have nectar guides that can only be seen in ultra-violet light. Like us, bees are trichromatic. That means they have three photoreceptors within the eye and base their color combinations on those three colors.

Humans base their color combinations on red, blue and green, while bees base their colors on ultraviolet light, blue and green. They can, however, see reddish wavelengths, such as yellow and orange. The most likely colors to attract bees, according to scientists, are purple, violet and blue. Bees also have the ability to see color much faster than humans.

Their color vision is the fastest in the animal world-five times faster than humans. They see each individual flower. Some flower petals appear to change color, depending upon the angle. This is known as iridescence. But, bees can. They see these shiny petals and associate them with sugar. Thus, the flower becomes more attractive to the bee and gets pollinated.

The car is moving so fast that the flowers blend in to one another and we see a blur of color. They can see individual flowers while traveling at a high rate of speed. Because of this, they actually respond better to moving objects than stationary ones. Flying helps bees see better. They can see depth and they can see three dimensionally. They can also judge distance.

They communicate these distances and directions of good foraging sites to the hive through their waggle dance. However, scientists have found that it is possible to trick bees into misjudging distances.

In one study, a tunnel was painted in a semi-checkered pattern. When the bees passed through it, they became confused regarding the distance of the tunnel. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. And economic benefits aside, bees are just gorgeous creatures.

See for yourself. Andrena helianthi lives in the central United States and in this portrait is contemplating its strong desire for sunflower nectar.

Okay, this is actually a wasp, but it still looks cool. Explainers The big questions about Covid booster shots. Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for The Weeds Get our essential policy newsletter delivered Fridays. Thanks for signing up! There were so many bumblebees and they moved so fast from flower to flower in search of pollen and nectar that it was hard to get one to stand still long enough to get a good picture. They are fast workers and, because of their larger bodies, can carry larger loads.

Bumblebees are excellent pollinators—much more efficient pollinators than honeybees, in fact. They mainly forage for pollen rather than nectar, and transfer more pollen to the pistils of the flowers with each visit. Many crops are well suited to natural pollination by bumblebees, including cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, seed crops, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, melons, and squash.

They are especially attracted to tube-shaped flowers. Female worker bees do the collecting of nectar and pollen. Crops such as tomatoes, peppers, berries, and cranberries bear better fruits if they are buzz pollinated. Bumblebees have to work harder than ever to find food and shelter due to habitat loss and the overuse of pesticides.

To attract bumblebees and other native bee species, consider native plants —such as asters, coneflowers Echinacea spp. However, bumblebees are not fussy; anything that produces nectar and pollen works for them!

If you plant even a small area or a few containers with flowering plants, the bees will find them. Plan your garden to have a long season of bloom. Unfortunately, this ability also makes them more vulnerable to agricultural pesticides and herbicides, which are usually sprayed in early morning and later in the day to avoid harming the honeybees that are active during the middle of the day.

There are about 45 species of bumblebees Bombus in the United States alone. These large bees are round and fuzzy with short, stubby wings. You have to wonder how these big round bees fly so well. A recent study showed how the tiny wings keep the bees aloft: Bumblebees flap their wings back and forth rather than up and down. Yes, but not enough to be a source for human consumption.

Bumblebees make a small amount of honey, just enough to tide them over a few days of bad weather. Early-blooming trees and shrubs, like fruit trees, pussy willows, and serviceberry, are especially necessary to give the newly emerging queens some nourishment as they wake up and start their new colonies.

The whole hive dies off in late fall, leaving just new, mated queens to start new colonies in the spring. If even one new queen dies, a whole potential colony will be lost. Bumblebees rarely string, though they are able. They are generally very docile. They do not form swarms like other communal bees and they only sting when truly provoked.

Only female bumble bees have stingers. But they are so good-natured that getting a female to sting you is a major undertaking. According to BumbleBee. They will really only become aggressive if you are bothering their nest. Bumbles can sting more than once, however, their sting lacks barbs and a stinger is not left behind.

Colonies may contain between 50 and individuals, according to the National Wildlife Federation, whereas honeybee hives may have 50,! Bumblebees have small nests, between the size of a baseball and a softball. Unlike a honeybee hive, bumblebees usually nest close to the ground or even underground, in stone walls, under clumps of grass, or in hollow trees and stumps. Abandoned mouse holes are a favorite since they come complete with a warm fur lining.

Bumbles stay close to home. After foraging at various flowers, they carry their collected pollen and nectar back to the nest to feed. Unlike honeybees, the bumblebee colony dies in late fall. The queen who rules the colony is the only member of a bumblebee colony to survive the winter! She hibernates during the winter months underground and starts a new colony in the spring. Yes, of course! Male bees will also sleep outside, after they leave the nest never to return.

Last year, the rusty patched bumblebee Bombus affinis was the first bee listed as an endangered species in the continental U. According to the Dept. If you notice a lack of bees in your yard, consider whether your neighborhood uses a lot of pesticides in their lawns and gardens. You may have your answer! At minimum, try to eliminate pesticides from your garden. A group of insecticides called neonicotinoids have been shown to have a devastating effect on all types of bees. It is a systemic insecticide that can come from pre-treated seeds or sprays applied to bedding plants.

The chemical is present in every part of the treated plant—flowers, stems, leaves, etc. Buy organic whenever possible or ask your local nursery to make sure that no systemics were used on the plants you are purchasing. To provide nesting sites, leave some part of your yard a little wild and brushy.