Female southern carpenter bee (Xylocopa micans) approaching scarletfruit passionflower (Passiflora foetida var. Lanuginosa), Galveston, Texas, USA.
Passion flower is adapted to pollination by bumble bees and other large bees. Its stamens and ovary form a large structure on a stalk. Anthers of stamens and ovary stigmas are directed downwards, hanging above the deep narrow space filled with nectar at the base of the stalk. This structure prevents feeding of many butterflies whereas small insects just cannot reach nectar that lies too deep. Conversely, large bees have right size for feeding from these flowers and pollinating them by their backs. In this photograph a southern carpenter bee is approaching wild passion flower. It is easy to see not only the appropriate size proportions but also pollen grains on bee’s body, mainly on the back.
Size: 5064px × 4327px
Location: Galveston, Texas, USA
Photo credit: © Ivan Kuzmin / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: animal, animals, bee, bees, carpenter, female, fetid, flight, flower, flying, foetida, fruit, galveston, grassland, grasslands, insect, insects, island, lanuginosa, micans, mossy, passiflora, passion, passionflower, passionfruit, plant, pollination, prairie, scarletfruit, southern, stinking, texas, vine, wetland, wetlands, xylocopa
