“If it’s not tied down, just take it.” That seems to be the philosophy of this honey bee photographed by Christopher Wren in northern England. In his TrogTrogBlog, Chris wrote that he was watching his bees working astrantia flowers when he noticed something unusual in this bee’s pollen basket. On closer inspection he discovered the object was a stamen from one of the flowers with the anther glued into the pollen basket and the filament sticking out.
Neither Chris nor I have ever seen something like this. Not only is it unusual, but it’s a great shot. Chris has an amazing collection of photos on his blog, and he is particularly adept with both birds and bees, so be sure to check it out.
Honey bee packing a flower stamen. © Christopher Wren.
