Sunshine made an unexpected appearance, so I got my camera and went looking for . . . well, I really didn’t know. Just something. The trees were heavy with blossoms, the bees were soaring, and it seemed like an all-around good day for photos. What I found was completely unexpected.
I started photographing a honey bee on a dandelion. Why I do this, I have no clue. I have hundreds—maybe thousands—of photos of bees on dandelions, but I was shooting even more when I saw something I’d never seen before. She pooped . . . right there on the dandelion while I watched.
I think the photos are instructive because they demonstrate how easy it is for diseases—especially those transmitted through feces like Nosema—to move from bee to bee, hive to hive, or even species to species. For some reason we don’t think of bee feces on flowers, we tend to think of it on cars, porches, bee hives, and bee suits. But as these photos demonstrate, they even leave it on flowers—in a place where the next unsuspecting bee may land while she’s looking for food.
Rusty
HoneyBeeSuite
Bee on a dandelion, just hanging out.
Suddenly, she poops in the flower.
And then more.
A sticky mess for an unsuspecting forager.
Huh…. today I learned that bee poop is bright yellow.
I was not expecting this.
Chris,
Healthy bee poop is bright yellow. Dysentery is more brown. There is always something to learn, which is why I love them.
Can’t the bee have no privacy while pooping?
It’s like a peephole in a restroom.
Interesting. I’m going to think twice about edible flowers now 🙂
That’s an enormous poop considering the size of the insect that produced it. Somehow I thought bee piles would be smaller.
Gosh! There’s more than I thought there would be!
That is one thing that really surprised me as a first-winter beekeeper – the size of bees’ cleansing-flight poops. 😉
“Interesting. I’m going to think twice about edible flowers now :)”
Apparently it tastes like honey 🙂
Only you Rusty, only you! You should have been a spy!
Ha! Who’s to say I’m not!