The native flower, Turtlehead, named because of the blossom’s lips look like a turtle’s beak, but to me the flower could be called Bumblebee flower instead as if you look closely, you might see a bumblebee squeezing into a blossom or backing out of one. Bumblebees are one of the few insects strong enough to push open the mouth and wiggle past the stamen that acts like a roadblock to reach the nectar.
Bumblebee in Turtlehead
Bumblebees crawl deep into the blossoms of the turtleheads and the blossom closes and hides the bees from view until they back out of the flower, but they might want to stay wrapped in the petals during the past several frozen mornings.
Bee Heading In
As the swamp milkweed begin to blossom, butterflies and bees gather on the pink blooms to collect nectar as this bumble bee is doing.
Bee on Swamp Milkweed
A fall blooming wildflower, the turtlehead flowers attract bumblebees, who are strong enough to push the lips of the blossom open enough to squeeze inside for the nectar.
Bumblebee and Turtlehead
The bumblebees were busy today squeezing into the turtlehead blossoms and the bee would be “swallowed up” by the flower as it collected the pollen before the bee pried its way back out.
Bumblebee on Turtlehead Blossom
If you look closely inside the left blossom, you can spot a bumblebee collecting nectar from the pink turtlehead flower. Turtlehead gets its common name from the blossoms that resemble the shape of a turtle’s head with its mouth partly open although the lips are hard to pry open and bumblebees are one of the few insects that have the strength to enter inside.
Bee Inside Turtlehead
Watch the bumblebee enter the turtlehead blossom.
The bumblebees were busy collecting pollen, especially in this patch of hollyhocks, so maybe they know it is August 1st and that the summer season is disappearing very quickly so soon the summertime flakes of pollen will turn into winter snowflakes.
Bumblebee in Hollyhock
With very few common milkweeds still blooming, insects are attracted to the swamp milkweed blossoms instead. The fluttering of a monarch butterfly caught my eye as it fed off the flower, but it was sharing the space with a bumblebee also after the nectar.
Busy as a Bee
The bumblebees were busy collecting nectar as soon as the rain stopped. The flowers were drooping their heads even more after the rain, causing the bees to play “Hang on Harvey” in order to get the nectar. Even the bee in the lower left corner had the same pose. Bumblebees are important pollinators of both crops and wildflowers but with their large round body size, compared to their wings, it is hard to believe they are capable of flight.
Busy Bumble Bee
