The Beautiful Spring Flowers and Pollinators Go Hand in Hand
There are so many flowers blooming right now that it’s hard sometimes to decide what to photograph first. All the incredible color is a great feeling after the browns of Florida winter. And along with spring flowers come spring pollinators. The woods are now buzzing with bees, crawling with ants, and climbing with insects of all shapes and sizes. When I can, I try to get pollinators and flowers together both because they make a more interesting photo, and because I love to be able to share animals in their natural habitats. What’s a more natural habitat for a pollinator than on a flower? Tonight’s image shows a common fleabane flower (Erigeron philladelphicus), also called Philadelphia fleabane or daisy fleabane. It’s a small flower that tends to attract mostly small pollinators. The small bee on the flower is a coppery metallic furrow bee (Halictus aerarius). It’s a type of sweat bee (they’re attracted to human sweat) and a good honey producer on top of being an extremely good pollinator. It’s legs and underbody are covered in small hairs that pollen sticks to so that the bee can easily move it from flower to flower. They seem to make a perfect springtime pair.
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