Spring has Sprung

False indigo shrub (Amorpha fruticosa)

There was no doubt it is spring in the mind of these tiny bees that are swarming our false indigo in the back yard.  It is hard to see the individual flowers but the golden pollen is visible when you get up close. You can see the bees in action in this video.  Over 40 of them were crawling all over the flowers and each other. Their little legs were soon carrying golden saddlebags of pollen.

These are Western Honey Bees, Apis mellifera.  According to Wikipedia:

"The western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", referring to the species' production of honey."

According to the MDC Field Guide, the honeybee was made Missouri's official state insect in 1985.  This is a great honor as it isn't even a native species!  It is thought to have originated in Africa and then spread on its own to Europe. It is one of the first insects to be domesticated, and is now found on every continent except Antarctica.

Unlike other bees, honeybees collect pollen carry pollen in basket-like structures on their back legs.  These are referred to as "saddlebags." These allow them to carry pollen back to the nest, at times weighing up to 30% of their own body weight!!  Note to self- don't complain about carrying the groceries into the house!

Recent studies have shown how they managed to package the pollen load.  They have long hairs on their legs that hold on to the pollen.

"The researchers then tugged on some of the pollen pellets using elastic string. They found that the pellets, though seemingly precarious, were firmly attached: The force necessary to dislodge a pellet was about 20 times more than the force a bee typically experiences while flying."  Science.org

The scientific tools we now have are amazing.....almost as amazing as the Apis mellifera!