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Bees not interested in Antirrhinums (Snapdragons)

2

Posts

  • Jac19Jac19 Posts: 496
    edited September 2021
    But can moths get into the flower though?
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    maybe it was those crafty humming birds?
    Devon.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Bees do go for yellow flowers before others , that’s why I went for the yellow jasmine, it just never flowered , right plant, wrong location as is what happens if you don't do the research first. 
    They used to say don’t put children in yellow clothes.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    When we were children on the farm if we wore yellow tee shirts at harvest time we’d frequently be covered with little black beetles. 😂 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    My paper nylon petticoats soaked in sugar water used to attract a few😀
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    My granddaughters' primary school had yellow tops. A nightmare for them in late summer when they would be covered in pollen beetles.
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    So did my two grandsons,  yellow sweatshirts.  I never understood why they did that. 

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Simone_in_WiltshireSimone_in_Wiltshire Posts: 1,073
    @Jac19 Looking at the effort to get to the nectar, plants that have the nectar in open flowers are more attractive.
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/comment/2386339#Comment_2386339

    I also discovered this year that plants like ox-eye daisy or leucantheum were less visited, but Linaria purpurea Canon Went or the big Verbascum (3 meters in height) made them absolutely happy. And I still have the lavender flowering.

    I ♥ my garden.

  • Jac19Jac19 Posts: 496
    edited October 2021
    Simone_in_Wiltshire  That is fascinating, Simone.  However, I should think the rewards are higher with the nectar being secured, safe from moths and other insects, for the bumbles who can get to them.  I have been throwing nets on half my salvia patches at sundown to save some nectar for my Bumbles from night time moths.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2021
    Please don’t worry about that. There is no need to ‘save the nectar’. Flowers are producing it all the time. The moths cannot empty them. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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