Honeybees don’t seem to mind which flowers they harvest nectar and pollen from. All goes.
#bees #entomology #insects #inaturalist
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140710590
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/139904648
@albertcardona Oh, so they don't have any preferences?
@trinsec Honeybees have flower preferences, as far as I know (all about convenience of access, distance from the nest, and protein content of the pollen), but when flowers are scarce or depleted they’ll go for any available. Whereas most other bees have far narrower preferences and less flexibility. A generalist vs specialist split.
All be said, honeybee colonies overwinter, whereas most other bees die out when their favorite flowers wane, leaving their progeny hibernating until the next year.
Bumblebees, on the other hand, won’t hesitate to rob nectar—a robbery because, by not entering a flower the expected way, they won’t contribute to pollination.
Being big and bulky and strong has disdvantages, but also advantages: bumblebees can bite plants, leaves in particular, to induce flowering. Quite the superpower! https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/bumblebees-bite-plants-flower-early
#bees #insects #inaturalist #entomology
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/138859501