Busy as a bee this week! In my battle with native bee identification I was honorably defeated. I will prevail and try again, but in the meantime there is much to do. The bee specimen are now organized and looking beautiful. In total we have 43 different species visiting Echinacea, and a lot of my time this week was spent cooped up in our beautiful little library soaking in the natural light and learning endless fascinating facts about these many species. For example, the big and blustery Bombus fervidus is known to pursue potential threats for hundreds of yards. The Hylaeus bee carries pollen in a special, stomach-like organ in her abdomen rather than on her legs and then regurgitates it back when she reaches her nest. And this is the one that really got to me: The female Ceratina will guard the entrance of her brood chamber and die right there over the winter from the cold, but her body continues to block the entrance, thus keeping her brood safe. Also, this species can produce eggs without mating. Ceratina has got it all figured out.
Next week I hope to get all this information online for everyone to peruse! Bee prepared!
