Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee Video, Bee-loving flowers, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Macro bee video, tagged Bees on Kahili ginger, bees on sedum, bees on sunflowers, butterfly on petunia, Keep it Clean, Sony Handycam hdr cx 330, Steve Montana on September 19, 2015| 1 Comment »
September 15…Barbara’s Kahili ginger (hedychium gardnerianum) is finally flowering.
I wonder if this is the same ginger plant that I shot when photographing the Poor Man’s Orchids in July 2013? If it is, Barbara has waited over two years to see it flower.
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee Video, Bee-loving flowers, Bumblebees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Oregon Grape-Holly, Videos on December 16, 2014| 12 Comments »
Since mid November this giant Oregon Grape Holly, (mahonia aquifolium) has been blooming and it’s likely to keep blooming into January the way the weather has been. Most people can’t believe it, but I’m happy to see so many of my bees getting nourishment from it. How do I know they’re mine? I’m sure I recognized them. 🙂
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Hummingbirds, Natural Beekeeping, New Zealand Flax, Videos, tagged Canon SX-50, carved wood hive, hummingbirds and New Zealand Flax, Kiera O'Hara, natural beekeeping, New Zealand Flax and ants, New Zealand Flax and bees, Sanyo Xacti on July 22, 2014| 8 Comments »
July 18, 2014…Although I walk past this New Zealand Flax just about every day, I never took notice of it until it started blooming about a week ago. I became curious whether bees would be attracted to it. Yes, they were…even as early as 8:30 am..
July 17, 2014…bee going deep for nectar. I recently read a website that stated honeybees can’t get the nectar from New Zealand Flax, and yet I saw many honeybees attending these blossoms.
July 12, 2014…Hummingbirds also visited, but were often chased away by rivals. Why is that? There is plenty to go around. “Why can’t they cooperate for the common good,” my wife wonders? I have no idea…Why can’t humans cooperate for the common good? Looking at our blue planet from space, seeing nothing around that’s habitable for light year distances, you’d think we’d want to work together for our mutual survival.
Just some random thoughts in light of the disturbing current world affairs.
July 14, 2014…When I saw reddish orange pollen coming into my Bee-atrice Log Hive, I wondered where it was coming from.
Reddish orange pollen, coming from the New Zealand Flax.
Ants like it too. When I was shooting the video I waited and waited until this ant emerged, then another came up, and another.
History of flax use in New Zealand
The Short Story of Flax in New Zealand
How to clean and harvest New Zealand Flax
Posted in Bee-loving flowers, Bumblebees, Hummingbirds, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Oregon Grape-Holly, Videos, tagged bee-loving flowers, bees on Oregon Coast, bumblebees, honey bees, macro nature video, Mahonia aquifolium, natural beekeeping, Oregon Grape-Holly, Wild pollinators, Yellow-faced Bumble Bee on November 27, 2013| 12 Comments »
Oregon Grape-Holly blooming in late November
Most visitors to the post office go to get their mail. These visitors go to get nectar. The Oregon Grape Holly is in full bloom, offering nectar and nectar is what they got. Honeybees, bumblebees, even a couple of green hummingbirds partake in the feast.
What is the importance of nectar? My Biodiversity Garden states “Nectar is the fuel for our pollinators such as solitary bees, bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies, moths and bats. It is the only source of energy and without it, the pollinators cannot fly. Nectar is secreted by nectaries within the flower.”
According to Dave’s Gardens Mahonia Aquifolium blooms in mid spring. This is late November! The plant is growing against a brick wall, facing south, during an unseasonably dry autumn. In any case, the wild pollinators love it.
November 24th…This honeybee is getting nectar from an early blooming Oregon Grape Holly (Mahonia Aquifolium)
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Videos, tagged bee pollinating poppy, bee-loving flowers, bees on borage, bees on Oregon Coast, bees on parsley, Crocosmia, daisy, Hummingbirds, Kiera O'Hara, Lotus, macro nature video, macro photography, Mary Steele, Mourning Cloak butterfly, organic gardening, Painted Lady butterfly, pollinators, Skipper butterfly on wallflower, Swallowtail butterfly, Sweet Thunder, Wendy McGinnis, Wild pollinators on November 12, 2013| 3 Comments »
Sweet Thunder provides the delightful musical background for this video of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies at work in my garden on the Oregon Coast.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 