May 22, 2017…Lupines, planted from seed last year are bringing in the bees.
When I saw all the bees on the Lupines I got out the camera. I noticed the bees would land on the bottom petals (referred to as ‘wings or sails,’). They would separate and what looked like a spike (referred to as a ‘keel’) would rise up. When the bee lifted off, the petals (wings) snapped shut over the keel. I had to find out more, so I consulted with Darcy Grahek of “Go Native Nursery,” at Bandon High School. Darcy said that the stigma (female parts) AND the anthers (male parts) are contained within the keel.
May 30…Bee lifts off lupine blossom after rubbing it’s body on the ‘keel.’ Petals (or ‘wings’) will close over keel. Watching the video, you’ll see the stigma poking up through the tip of the keel after the bee lifts off.
By rubbing it’s body on the keel, the bee pollinates the flower when the anthers touch the stigma and the bee picks up pollen. For a more detailed explanation scroll to lupin in Sexual Reproduction in Plants, by Johny Thomas.
The ‘keel’
I pulled off the outside petals (referred to as sails or wings) of the keel, revealing the pollination parts of the flower. The female part is the stigma (longer). The male parts are the anthers which can be seen atop the (shorter) filaments. When the bee rubs it’s abdomen against the keel, the pollen on the anthers comes in contact with the stigma and pollination occurs while the bee is rewarded with grains of pollen. Win-win.
The Bird’s Foot Trefoil uses a similar type of pollination.
Many thanks to Gerard van Duinen of La Tabù, for giving me permission to use his delightful composition, Hijo #1, in the video.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
Fascinating, thank you. When I was a child my parents were keen on growing lupins and I used to pull the flowers apart but had no idea what was going on!
That’s interesting. When I was trying to figure out what was happening when the bees rub their abdomens on the “keel,” Darcy says, “Why don’t you dissect it?” Me, “Yeah, good idea,” having never even considered it.
Cool! I saw a picture of yellow broom and the way a bee triggers the flower to release pollen. Isn’t mother nature awesome?
Indeed. There is just so much life going on that we are blind to until we start observing and asking questions. Fortunately, we have the internet to supply us with endless information now instead of having to rely on the outdated information of an encyclopedia.
That is WAY COOL! Nice music choice too. Accordion?
It’s a Bandoneon. I was looking for some cool background music. I tried some FMA but nothing really worked, so I’ve got some La Tabù music from a couple of years ago. I dropped the first one in there and WOW, I loved it, but I thought I better ask Gerard if it was okay to use it. I emailed him Friday evening and was greeted Saturday morning with a “Go for it, Pat,”
Great post Pat, wonderful video and music as ever. As you say nature is amazing if you take the time to look at what is going on 🙂
Thanks, Eddy. The trick is “to find the time.” Now that I’m not working as hard, I have more time to observe things. Trouble is…I don’t have as much energy and find myself dozing off in the evenings.
I loved the video, your lupins are beautiful and the bumble bee is gorgeous! Amelia
Thanks Amelia.