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Bees collecting pollen from my sweet peas

gilla.walmsleygilla.walmsley Posts: 339
in Wildlife gardening
I'm not very knowledgeable about bees, so this will no doubt be a novice observation but I had always thought bees collected pollen with their mouths / proboscis. I happened to wander down the end of my garden just now and noticed that my sweet peas are absolutely swarming with what I think are honey bees - the bumble bees that are everywhere else (snapdragons, salvia etc etc) aren't interested in them, and I've never seen honey type bees in my garden en masse like this. They are standing on top of a petal and then pushing it apart with their back legs and then rubbing their bum on a green spike that appears! Was really fascinating to watch up close - is this the way all honey bees collect pollen? Or would it have been another type of bee, or a method specifically adopted for sweet peas?  :)

What with having a leaf cutter bee visiting for the first time this year, it's been a really good year for me for bees :) 

Posts

  • gilla.walmsleygilla.walmsley Posts: 339
    edited June 2023
    Actually maybe i'm mistaken... maybe they are just pushing their head down right in the middle of the two petals to get to the pollen and just wiggling their bums in the air when they do it! Was just a sight I hadn't seen before :D . And I think they're leaf cutter bees and not honey bees!
  • CrazybeeladyCrazybeelady Posts: 778
    A lot of bees collect pollen on their bodies and then it brushes on other flowers for pollination. Leaf cutters are a bit similar looking to honeybees - if you see them carrying leaves that gives them away 😄. Their undersides are quite yellow and usually pollen covered. Bumblebees weren't interested when I grew sweetpeas either.
  • gilla.walmsleygilla.walmsley Posts: 339
    Yes these bees were an orange / mustard yellow colour underneath, which is why (after a quick Google) I thought Leaf Cutter Bees (and I have a new rose with all the leaf cutter markings too). Interesting that bumbles aren't interested in sweet peas - I wonder if they struggle to get to the pollen. It's so nice to see the garden full of bees as it was a slow start for them here this year
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