About two weeks ago I saw Sarracenia pollination occur naturally. It was pretty exciting. This is the first time I can remember that a pollinator interacted with the flower in the way that books such as The Savage Garden describe Sarracenia pollination.
In the past, I saw smaller bees visiting Sarracenia flowers, but they were entering and exiting the flower through the space between two petals. This time, a larger bee entered through the gap between petals and exited by pushing under a petal. Sarracenia flowers are designed to produce that kind of behavior in pollinators to prevent self-pollination (cross-pollination increases genetic diversity). I now know that the design really works! Nature can be really smart sometimes...
After this first observance, I've noticed these bees going around the flowers a few more times.
From just looking at the bee and comparing with photos on the internet, I think this arthropod belongs to the species Bombus impatiens.
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AuthorRising college student who enjoys growing carnivorous plants. Archives
August 2020
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