Monday, July 11, 2011

Nectar Thieves!

Our neighbors planted a morning glory vine along our property line. I was out there with my camera the other day trying to snap some pictures of carpenter bees which love the showy blue and purple flowers. These bees are so slow and loud it is fun to watch them.  I thought it would be easy to take a picture or two, so I took up a strategic position in front of a dozen flowers all lined up facing me. However, I kept waiting and waiting, and not a single bee went inside the flowers. I realized I was witnessing a fascinating phenomenon: nectar robbing.

By staying on the outside of a flower, carpenter bees take the nectar without pollinating



Morning glory flowers have long narrow throats that make it difficult for a big carpenter bee to climb inside.

Sizing up the throat: nope, too narrow



So they sit on the top of a flower, make a slit at the petal base (corolla) and get the nectar anyway.

Climbing to the top is hard work: fragile petals are crumpling and the whole flower is swaying precariously



Plants produce nectar as payment to pollinators for transferring pollen from flower to flower. By making a slit in the corolla, the carpenter bees avoid touching the pollen and therefore, take the payment without doing the job.

Almost there



That's why it is called nectar robbing.

Making a slit and getting to the nectar



A few flowers that I examined all had slits at their bases and there were no other bees that I could see, meaning probably that carpenter bees were pretty thorough in getting most of the nectar out.

The slit at the corolla: evidence of robbery






I have also witnessed a comic episode of a bee actually trying to climb inside a morning glory flower. After it got the nectar, it tried to get out backside first, lost its footing and fell out of the flower's throat.

A stumble bee?

It tried to grab onto a petal...




... but the petal folded, so it fell on its head again  (: .

Are they serving alcohol in there? Where do I line up?

Finally it climbed back in, turned around, and came out head first.


After all these antics, the flower was ripped apart, and probably completely useless for pollination.

I have read somewhere that it is typically female carpenter bees that cause so much destruction

I have to say these bees are not malicious by nature, and where a flower presents itself conveniently, they will take its nectar the conventional way and do their job as a pollinator.

Flowers on a sweet pea shrub make nectar easily accessible, so they get pollinated and I pull up hundreds of seedlings underneath the bush...


But they will do what they have to do to get their food :).

52 comments:

  1. The cheeky blighter's seem to know what they are ding, that last picture is just sensational.

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  2. What a great post! Wonderful info and beautiful pictures. I never heard of nectar robbing.

    Happy Summer Gardening ~ FlowerLady

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  3. I never noticed or heard about nectar robbing and have grown morning glory for many years. I am glad you posted this, as I will be on the look out for it from now on. These are great picture too. They tell the story so well. When I take a photo of a carpenter bee, the photo seems to get ruined by the glare off their shiny butt. You did a good job with the macros on them.

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  4. Your header photo is beautiful as are all your photos...what a fun post and very informative too.

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  5. Not a big morning glory fan, they remind me of bindweed. i believe they are in the same family.

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  6. Nice post Masha. I'm wondering if it is just our selection of Morning Glory cultivars that has created the issue and if the bees have the same trouble with the wild Morning Glory...or if it's the fact that smaller honey bees have declined so much and the carpenter bees are taking advantage of an underutilized resource. As you pointed out at in your end line, it's all about food economics.

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  7. Alistair, thank you for the comment.

    FlowerLady, I am glad you liked it, it was fascinating to watch...

    Donna, thank you, and I understand what you mean :). I had to struggle with them too.

    Darla, thank you. It is my favorite photo too.

    Greggo, me neither. It always wants to invade my garden.

    Professor, thank you. We have a lot of honey bees, but carpenters have to eat too... In my garden, honey bees seem to go for smaller flowers, such as nepeta and penstemons where I never see carpenter bees.

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  8. Great play by play Masha! I've never heard of nectar robbing and will stash that little bit of info away for later use!

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  9. Thank you, Cat. I am glad you found it interesting.

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  10. What a wonderful posting Masha. Such great photo captures.

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  11. Thank you, Lona, for your lovely compliment. I appreciate it a lot.

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  12. Clever thiefs . Amazing photos, Masha ! You must be a very patient woman ...

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  13. I did not know about nectar robbing...very interesting. Does the slit compromise the health of the plant or flower? I wonder if the deep blooms of the morning glory are attractive to hummingbirds. I don't grow morning glories, but I do see the hummingbirds on my monarda, budleia, and lillies.

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  14. Thank you, Dani, I am not actually very patient, but it was really fun to watch them :)

    The Sage Butterfly, from what I have read, the slit does not compromise the health of the flower, but the absence of nectar means no actual pollinators are attracted to it. I have also read that it is the color blue that attracts bees specifically, and some morning glories actually evolved to be pink on purpose to be attractive to humming birds which like pink better apparently :).

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  15. The sunbirds harvest nectar from Tecomaria the ethical way, the weavers just yank the flowers off, one by one. Sustainable, think about tomorrow? Not us!

    That last plant is a South African September bush. Something I battle to grow, and you battle excess seedlings!

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  16. Elephant's Eye, it is interesting how nature works. I am not sure we are struggling with the same thing though, because my shrub is definitely a sweet pea shrub (polygala x dalmaisiana). Perhaps it is known under another name where you are...

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  17. Masha - How observant of you! I grew morning glory last year and never noticed. The flowers are so delicate you can hardly touch them without them collapsing and they die within a day. I bet your neighbours didn't notice either.

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  18. You did a a fantastic job!
    I was terribly amused seeing the bee attempts to get out.

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  19. B-a-g, thank you. You know, I never noticed either, until the other day :)

    Mihai, thank you, and so was I - I was laughing when I was watching it - it is a wonder the pictures came out sharp!

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  20. Great post Dear Masha!
    Have a great week!Monica

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  21. Ale się biedne pszczółki musiały napracować, a że troszkę ukradły, to trzeba im wybaczyć. Śliczne zdjęcia. Pozdrawiam ciepło

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  22. Grazie, Monica, and thank you, Giga. I am glad you liked the post.

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  23. Beautiful pictures, Masha and who would've thought this kind of robbery going on in the garden! Thank you for sharing

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  24. Very interesting. I will have to be on the lookout for nectar robbing! I wish everything would go after the morning glories this way - they are lovely, but too invasive here!

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  25. Thank you, klaraau01, it was surprising to me too.

    Holley, I agree they are invasive, and I do have them with a passion, although the flowers did provide me with a lot of entertainment this weekend.

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  26. Smart bees! And your photos tell the story so well. Great post!

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  27. Thank you, Deb. You are right, they are smart, and good entertainment too...

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  28. Masha,
    Wonderful post! The commentary on the bee antics was fun. Such patience in pursing those bees! Great job.
    Julie

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  29. I love this post! It's informative and the pictures are great. The morning glory colors are beautiful. I like the picture of the bee coming up out of the flower, he looks like he is sticking his tongue out at you for recording his mishaps. :o)

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  30. Julie, thank you very much! It was fun to watch them...

    Lois, thank you, and who knows, maybe he did?

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  31. That's fascinating!! I've never heard of nectar robbing. What smart creatures. :o) Incredible picture!!!

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  32. beautiful! what a detailed description and pictorial photos! I just realized, that "morning glory" is the name of Ipomoea, in polish less romantic- "wilec", something like "snaky" or "meandering";-)

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  33. What an absolutely stunning post and amazing photographs! I'm lost for words, all I can say is WOW!

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  34. Casa Mariposa, thank you, I enjoyed taking these pictures, and I am glad you liked them too.

    Megimoher, the Polish name is more accurate description :).

    Christine, thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it!

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  35. Wow! That was something new..robber bees! Fantastic photos, how did you get that close without scaring the bee away! I must watch my morning glory too to see if there's any little slits or robber bees around! Thanks for sharing the information and such superb macros!

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  36. P3chandan, thank you. I have a 55-200mm telephoto, so I didn't have to get really close to them :).

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  37. What a great graphic study! Really I know people a lot like those resourceful bees... And they say not to personify insects.

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  38. Linniew, that was a funny and insightful comment :). You are right, bees are not the only ones..

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  39. I'm new to your blog! You have such a lovely garden!
    Beautiful shot of bees with flowers! Amazing!

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  40. Malar, welcome! I am very glad you like my blog, thank you for taking the trouble to let me know.

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  41. I wonder how many bees fell on their heads before going to nectar robbing? Can't blame them really and actually it's rather clever. Very interesting post and I especially like your last shot!

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  42. Masha, you've outdone yourself! Great combination of photography and narrative. Thanks for sharing your insight on nectar thieves.

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  43. Sweetbay, good question! I don't blame them either...

    GirlSprout, thank you. I am glad you liked it.

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  44. The photosession is fantastic! Thank you.

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  45. Thank you, Tattina and nice to meet you! I am glad you liked it.

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  46. Your photographs are incredible!
    I've seen the bees do the same thing with Bleeding Heart flowers.

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  47. Thank you, Cally, I am glad you liked them. Interesting about Bleeding Heart - I bet those flowers are hard to get into too!

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  48. Great photos, I love it, stumble bee indeed! I find a number of blooms with similar holes in them from our various native bees. Quite a clever strategy really, and you've documented very well why it seems to work better for carpenter bees to access some flowers from the outside. Poor bee, must have felt terribly embarrassed ;)

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  49. Gorgeous pix! I love the series of the bee that was clearly over the limit for driving... uh, flying!

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  50. Beautiful sequence. You are a very good photographer!

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  51. Oh, how I love your pictures! And the story is so amunsing, the poor thing, having such trouble!

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  52. Curbstone Valley, thank you, you made me laugh :). I think it is clever too. I would have gone crazy if I had to deal with all those morning glories coming up all other my back yard, so I completely endorse what they do.

    Cathy, thank you for the funny comment :)

    Altroverde and Corina, thank you very much!

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