Thursday, September 17, 2009

Weird Bee

Does anyone know what the deal is with this bee? It had yellow bulges on both of it's back legs(the yellow oval on the right, hind part is actually on it's leg). I've never seen a bee like that in my garden before and am not sure if it's supposed to bee like that, or if it's got an issue.
It's on some bachelor buttons that I planted seeds for in the spring. I totally forgot that I planted them and almost ripped them out in July, thinking that they were weeds! Good thing I decided to be patient to see what they turned into (or was it laziness perhaps?) .

2 comments:

Jennie said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollen_basket

It looks like a European Honeybee- the ones that have been dying off like crazy- so YAY!!! They've been getting pretty rare, so it's unusual to see one. I posted a link to an article about the "pollen basket"- that is the yellow humps on their legs. I've had tons of them on my sunflowers, and I am so happy to see them :)
~ Jennie

amy said...

That bee isn't a mutant. He's just a very successful pollen collector. Those yellow patches on his lege are evidence of all his hard work!