White, Bee, Determined

You know about the Datura inoxia that I let grow in my driveway cracks every year, right? I've posted about them several times before, as their big white blooms are wonderful, and the spiky seed pods are so interesting (until they burst open).

As much as I like this plant though, there are bees that like it even more than I do.

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The other morning I watched this one bee spend literally two minutes at this single bloom:

I'm not sure if this worker was not quite awake yet, if maybe it was lazy (if that's even possible in bees), or if it were just not too intelligent, but it walked over every part of the bloom, including the outside:

It spent lots of time deep inside the long neck of the flower, sometimes just walking in a circle halfway down:

I couldn't figure out what it was doing or trying to do, as the nectar is down in the bottom, and the pollen is up at the top and there's nothing on the bloom petals themselves as far as I know:

It gave me lots of time to take photos though -- no snapping of random shots whenever a too-busy-to-stop-for-even-a-second bee speeds into my field of view and back out again.

And for that I am thankful, because I too move pretty slowly in the morning, doing inexplicable things -- like bending over a single bloom with a camera for minutes at a time.

Want to see movies of bees on these blooms?

Note that I'm considering pulling these plants out of the driveway cracks soon. I have this growing in other parts of the garden now, so no real need to keep them in such an awkward place.

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