Busy as a Bee?

I was taking photos of all the bees gathering pollen fro my bee balm and I noticed two bright yellow sacs on one of the bumblebees. I found out they were pollen baskets.


Bumblebee filling up its pollen baskets ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden )

Although it is called the pollen basket, the bees don't actually have a basket on their rear legs. Instead it's a depressed area called the corbicula on the bee's hind leg. Before she heads for home, while still on the flower, the bee uses her forelegs to clean the pollen from her head and thorax. While she flies home to the hive, she passes the pollen from her forelegs and the back of her thorax to her middle legs.



Bumblebees & Bee Balm ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden )

 

Well captured,..i just love taking pictures like this,..just to catch them as they gather pollen,..soooo briefly then away again.

 

Great photos Gail!

 

Marvelous foto's, Gail. I have a thing for bees and so I am always delighted to see foto's of any sort of bee, any time.
The flowers are nice too--is that first one of a mint plant?

 

Thanks for your comments Phillip, Cheryl, Frank, Eileen and Sjoerd.
Sjoerd, the plant you asked about is Agastache anisata (Anise Hyssop) but one of the common names is hummingbird mint. It is very hardy and is attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It has a liquorice smell & taste when crushed.
Here are a few photos of the plant.



Agastache anisata (Anise Hyssop ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden )


( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden )

 

Gail, what wonderful photos! Our honeybees come home to the hive with little pouches of pollen. We watch them to make sure this is happening, and if not we put pollen patties in the hive.
I've tried the agastache three times--it just doesn't like either the climate or me. So glad to see yours is doing very well!

 

Oh, I see....yes, of course. Thanks, Gail for passing along the correct name and some foto's.
I have never tried that`plant, but I do like the looks of it...and if it is something that bees like then I shall put on my candidate's list for (be)bee-friendly plants.

I shall do some research this evening to see if it will do well enough in my zone.
I can imagine a nice, little patch of those somewhere.

 

Very great shots and interesting information. Bees are so fascinating.

 

I love bees, on photos and in RL too. (Points at avatar.) I like watching them when they work. You've captured them well.

 

Thanks MG, Sjoerd, Daisy & Droopy. I enjoy watching all the bee activity when I am out in the garden.