Hi folks! How's life? Busy I guess! There's office jobs and deadlines to cover; gotta go to the market and get some food items, low on drinks too; then there's laundry and stuff to do, the house needs to be cleaned; oh and the babies need to be fed and tended too;🥴 even keeping yourself clean and presentable amidst all these frenzy...for a quick selfie perhaps, or for the sake of the face-lock on your phone!...just kidding😜...but yeah, the everyday routine of your life is bustling with activity...quite a busy bee!!
That's right! A busy bee indeed!🐝 While we are busy in our daily chores, the bees too have a daily routine to follow which is in fact quite similarly structured like ours! Their busy schedules include foraging for food and drinks, building and cleaning their houses, feeding and tending to the young ones, grooming themselves....and believe me when I say that our lives and theirs are not only similar but also interdependent! You plant flowering and fruiting trees, treasure a garden, feel happy and spirited to see them bloom...and hence you provide the bees with their food and drinks, that's pollen and nectar! The bees fly from flower to flower acquiring all the eatables they need for themselves and their youngs, and in the process help cross-pollination of the flowers of your garden. This event of cross-pollination is necessary for fertilization to occur and....Voila! you get to have your favourite fruits and vegetables on your plate! Beautiful, ain't it? You see, that is why global agriculture and crop production are so much dependendent on the survival and health of the bees. They are the true superheroes of the world food security. But just as all superheroes do not wear capes, all bees do not make hives!
It's true! The ones that live in groups, build hives, provide us with honey and have division of labour...in short, the only ones about whom we study in our schools...are not the only 'bees' out there. In fact, they are the 'honeybees' that constitute just a minute percentage of the vast diversity of 'bees' all over the world! There are so many others from the tiniest to the big-bodied; ones with blue, black, yellow, green and varied colourations; those that live alone or in aggregation; that nest in twigs , soil and mud walls and have their own set of nesting and foraging behaviours! And what's more, they are there in your neighbourhood too! You just need to have a closer look!
The video here gives just a glimpse of some of these beauties in their daily chores. I am hereby listing out their identities and activities in brief since each of them has a story to tell!
1. The video starts off with a commoner that is easily spotted in the wild in hives or in sweet shops, or can be evidently seen being reared by farmers and beekeepers. These are honeybees of Apidae family called as Apis cerana. The one seen in the video clip was hovering over a yellow rain lily flower as if deciding whether it's worth a visit. The pollen baskets or corbiculae are clearly visible on the hind legs of the bee, where they store the pollen grains they forage from the flowers that they visit. That's so like us, taking carrybags to the market!! 😊
2. The second one is called Apis florea, also belonging to the Apidae family. In the video clip it is seen foraging on a coat button flower ending with a quick cleaning of the face and antennae. That's right folks, always wash your mouth after eating 😉
3. Next one is a Lasioglossum sp., a member of family Halictidae, seen here exiting from a bitter gourd flower. There's evidently a lot more flowers on its list to visit!
4. The fourth bee is a beauty to behold, known as Amegilla sp. and also a member of Apidae. It is a very fast moving bee, quite hard to follow in the fields. The video clip presents a slow motion depiction of the bee, busy nectaring a dahlia flower. Note its long tongue sticking out as it approaches the flower!
5. Next up is a bumblebee (Bombus sp.) feeding on a balsam or jewelweed flower nectar, a common view in the hilly areas of high altitude. This hairy bodied bee also moves quite fast and hence the video speed has been slowed down to catch a better view of its flower perching behaviour and nectar feeding with its long proboscis (tongue) curled out.
6. The next little black one with a white mark on its face , seen climbing out of a bitter gourd flower, is also a member of Apidae family and the name is Braunsapis sp.
7. The next bee on list has a charming beauty and a wicked lifestyle. This is a Thyreus sp. that is a cleptoparasite of other species, mostly genus Amegilla. Commonly noted as cuckoo bees, they do not build their own nest and instead lay their eggs in others' nests, in cells provisioned with pollen ball for the rightful youngs. The eggs of cuckoo bee hatch out first, devour the provisions and claim their living over the rightful young ones of that nest. Interesting eh?! Knew about the bird, who knew about the bees?🤔 The video clip here presents a glimpse of the bee grasping tightly onto a twig with its mandibles(mouthparts) and busy grooming itself. Are you up for a party?
8. The next bee is a Ceratina sp., a member or Apidae family, seen foraging pollen in a dahlia flower. Hard to ignore such a beautiful flash of metallic green tinge !
9. Next one is also a little bee belonging to Apidae, busy foraging in flowers of a wild basil variety. It's called a Pseudapis sp.
10. It's funny to see a bee butt whirling inside a flower but it's interesting to know why! This bee is a member of Megachilidae family who has a characteristic densely packed branched hairs (scopa) in ventral parts of its abdomen to pack the pollen grains. So there you go! A good whirl inside the flower while brushing the scopa against the anthers will satisfy the pollen needs, topped off with a tongue cleaning session after a lip smacking taste of sweet nectar!
11. The next video clip features the nest of Trigona sp., with the entrance made of wax and plant resin. These are stingless bees belonging to Apidae family.
12. This large bodied Apid bee is a Xylocopa sp. , also known as carpenter bee as it digs its nest holes in wooden surface. Here it is seen foraging for pollen in brinjal flowers in a unique process that produces an audible buzzing sound. It is interesting to note that this buzz differs from the sound of the regular buzz we hear while the bees fly about in fields!
13. The next clip features another member of the Megachilidae family, busy packing pollen in its abdominal scopa as it lands on the legume flowers in a typical fashion to brush its abdomen against the anthers directly.
14. The next one in line is again the tiny stingless bee Trigona sp., here seen collecting sugary exudates from the extrafloral nectaries of a jasmine plant.
15. Next up is yet another species of Xylocopa, seen collecting nectar from flat bean flowers. Amazing to see how it keeps its body balance while foraging in such soft stemmed feeble plants!
16. This video clip gives a short glimpse of the nest building activity of Ceratina sp., rightly referred to as the little carpenter bee. So next time you see a bee butt sticking out of a hole, be sure to keep a lookout for the new flatmates!
17. Another member of the buzz pollinator group is the little one next up in the video, flaunting its irridescent cuticular abdominal bands as it collects pollen from a brinjal flower. The name's Curvinomia sp. belonging to the family Halictidae.
18. A commoner amongst many others, it is a giant honeybee Apis dorsata of Apidae family, trying to collect pollen from a brinjal flower
19. The next one is yet another Ceratina bee, seen hovering around a sesame flower for quite sometime before finally settling in, ready to crawl upto the nectar gland at the top end. What took it so long to decide I wonder!
20. The second-to-last in this long list is a different species of Nomia bee, this one flaunting its beautiful yellow cuticular abdominal bands while busy nectaring on a wild variety of garlic flower.
21. The last but not the least is a small bee called Steganomus sp., belonging to the Halictidae family. The video clip is featured in slow motion to clearly show its nectar robbing behaviour, where it pierces the flower petals from outside with its sharp mandibles, near the nectar gland at the flower base towards the pedicel, and smartly acquires the nectar avoiding the pain of going in through the tubular floral parts upto the sweet spot!
😄
There you go! From parasitism to robbery, joint families to single mothers to the varied behaviours of food procurement, the world of bees is much interesting as you get to know it more!
Hope you enjoyed the video and the read, though a bit too long. Do drop in your thoughts and feedbacks in the comments section and watch out for the next article in the blog!
2. The second one is called Apis florea, also belonging to the Apidae family. In the video clip it is seen foraging on a coat button flower ending with a quick cleaning of the face and antennae. That's right folks, always wash your mouth after eating 😉
3. Next one is a Lasioglossum sp., a member of family Halictidae, seen here exiting from a bitter gourd flower. There's evidently a lot more flowers on its list to visit!
4. The fourth bee is a beauty to behold, known as Amegilla sp. and also a member of Apidae. It is a very fast moving bee, quite hard to follow in the fields. The video clip presents a slow motion depiction of the bee, busy nectaring a dahlia flower. Note its long tongue sticking out as it approaches the flower!
5. Next up is a bumblebee (Bombus sp.) feeding on a balsam or jewelweed flower nectar, a common view in the hilly areas of high altitude. This hairy bodied bee also moves quite fast and hence the video speed has been slowed down to catch a better view of its flower perching behaviour and nectar feeding with its long proboscis (tongue) curled out.
6. The next little black one with a white mark on its face , seen climbing out of a bitter gourd flower, is also a member of Apidae family and the name is Braunsapis sp.
7. The next bee on list has a charming beauty and a wicked lifestyle. This is a Thyreus sp. that is a cleptoparasite of other species, mostly genus Amegilla. Commonly noted as cuckoo bees, they do not build their own nest and instead lay their eggs in others' nests, in cells provisioned with pollen ball for the rightful youngs. The eggs of cuckoo bee hatch out first, devour the provisions and claim their living over the rightful young ones of that nest. Interesting eh?! Knew about the bird, who knew about the bees?🤔 The video clip here presents a glimpse of the bee grasping tightly onto a twig with its mandibles(mouthparts) and busy grooming itself. Are you up for a party?
8. The next bee is a Ceratina sp., a member or Apidae family, seen foraging pollen in a dahlia flower. Hard to ignore such a beautiful flash of metallic green tinge !
9. Next one is also a little bee belonging to Apidae, busy foraging in flowers of a wild basil variety. It's called a Pseudapis sp.
10. It's funny to see a bee butt whirling inside a flower but it's interesting to know why! This bee is a member of Megachilidae family who has a characteristic densely packed branched hairs (scopa) in ventral parts of its abdomen to pack the pollen grains. So there you go! A good whirl inside the flower while brushing the scopa against the anthers will satisfy the pollen needs, topped off with a tongue cleaning session after a lip smacking taste of sweet nectar!
11. The next video clip features the nest of Trigona sp., with the entrance made of wax and plant resin. These are stingless bees belonging to Apidae family.
12. This large bodied Apid bee is a Xylocopa sp. , also known as carpenter bee as it digs its nest holes in wooden surface. Here it is seen foraging for pollen in brinjal flowers in a unique process that produces an audible buzzing sound. It is interesting to note that this buzz differs from the sound of the regular buzz we hear while the bees fly about in fields!
13. The next clip features another member of the Megachilidae family, busy packing pollen in its abdominal scopa as it lands on the legume flowers in a typical fashion to brush its abdomen against the anthers directly.
14. The next one in line is again the tiny stingless bee Trigona sp., here seen collecting sugary exudates from the extrafloral nectaries of a jasmine plant.
15. Next up is yet another species of Xylocopa, seen collecting nectar from flat bean flowers. Amazing to see how it keeps its body balance while foraging in such soft stemmed feeble plants!
16. This video clip gives a short glimpse of the nest building activity of Ceratina sp., rightly referred to as the little carpenter bee. So next time you see a bee butt sticking out of a hole, be sure to keep a lookout for the new flatmates!
17. Another member of the buzz pollinator group is the little one next up in the video, flaunting its irridescent cuticular abdominal bands as it collects pollen from a brinjal flower. The name's Curvinomia sp. belonging to the family Halictidae.
18. A commoner amongst many others, it is a giant honeybee Apis dorsata of Apidae family, trying to collect pollen from a brinjal flower
19. The next one is yet another Ceratina bee, seen hovering around a sesame flower for quite sometime before finally settling in, ready to crawl upto the nectar gland at the top end. What took it so long to decide I wonder!
20. The second-to-last in this long list is a different species of Nomia bee, this one flaunting its beautiful yellow cuticular abdominal bands while busy nectaring on a wild variety of garlic flower.
21. The last but not the least is a small bee called Steganomus sp., belonging to the Halictidae family. The video clip is featured in slow motion to clearly show its nectar robbing behaviour, where it pierces the flower petals from outside with its sharp mandibles, near the nectar gland at the flower base towards the pedicel, and smartly acquires the nectar avoiding the pain of going in through the tubular floral parts upto the sweet spot!
😄
There you go! From parasitism to robbery, joint families to single mothers to the varied behaviours of food procurement, the world of bees is much interesting as you get to know it more!
Hope you enjoyed the video and the read, though a bit too long. Do drop in your thoughts and feedbacks in the comments section and watch out for the next article in the blog!
loved your blog <3
ReplyDeleteThank you ! Please keep supporting and stay tuned for the next article.
DeleteWhat an amazing blog..Loved it..Looking forward to read more and more about them..
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. Stay tuned!
DeleteEnjoyable read.
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DeleteIts nice, some pics of each bee will make it complete
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ReplyDeleteGreat writing!!!...
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