It’s
impossible not to smile at the persistence of the bees as they work the crocus
blossoms. In the late afternoon, as the sun begins to dip lower on the horizon,
and the flowers start to close up for the day, the bees are still busy trying
desperately to poke their way inward. If successful, they nearly disappear
within as the blossom shakes about, the insects insistently searching for the
nectaries deep within the receptacle.
As they
back out of the flower, they are covered in yellow-orange pollen – often so
that it necessitates a ritual cleaning. The bees almost perch on the side of
the crocus as they use their legs to brush their antennae clean, moving the
pollen downward across their body as they wiggle and force it along. Finally,
they push as much as they can into the pollen baskets on their hind legs before
taking flight again.
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