On Fri, 30 May 2008 10:22:30 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"joevan" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 29 May 2008 21:23:33 GMT, joevan
wrote:

On Thu, 29 May 2008 14:19:07 -0700, "Paddy's Pig"
wrote:

Neat, what is it doing?
I took another look and I guess he is just being a busy bee,
pollinating flowers etc.

She is collecting pollen on her body's hairs which she'll then brush into
special carrying equipment on her back legs. The pollen will be taken back
to the nest where it will be stored to be fed to growing larvae.

Or she might just be preparing to suck nectar from the nectaries to take to
the hive where it will be stored, processed into honey and eventually eaten.

The plant will be pollinated by accident, not intent. Pollen (sperm) from
one plant will stick to her hairs, as you can see, then she'll visit another
plant and some of the earlier pollen will stick to the female part of that
flower, thus beginning the production of the seed/s.

Mary

Isn't the process just so wonderful!