The Gentians and the Bees

The narrow-leaved gentians were blooming is such profusion along the river that it was stunning. I've never seen carpets of this flower before. But even more amazing was watching the industrious bumblebees diving into the "closed" blossoms in search of pollen and nectar.

I took several series of photos, hoping to capture the entire event. Here we have Madam Bumblebee diving into the flower:


...and then backing out:


When she emerged, she used her middle legs, which are equipped with pollen combs, to rake the pollen off her hair and transfer it to the pollen sacs on her hind legs (for more information on this, read the piece I just wrote for the Adirondack Almanack).


And then off she goes to dive into another flower:


Here we go again. Into the flower:


...within the flower (sometimes buzzing, sometimes silent):


...and backing back out:



And then it dawned on me: I have a video option on the camera! So, take your Dramamine and sit back - you can watch LIVE ACTION of the bumblebee visiting the gentians! If you turn the volume up, you can hear the vibration buzzing when the bee is deep within the flower.

[Okay - I couldn't upload it onto the blog, but you can see it here.]