I managed to slip out into the garden early this morning and was surprised to see how many critters had taken a liking to the chive blossoms. Usually, the white blossoms are covered with lovebugs but this year there were only a few but joining them was a whole slew of other bugs! Milkweed bugs, ailanthus webworm moths, longtailed skippers, assassin bugs, honeybees, bumblebees and even mosquitoes were busy on the blossoms. Those were the ones I recognized. Many more were flitting and crawling about the flowers. Some, I was able to photograph. Others were far too fast! And then there were those that were too shy to stick around long enough for me to steady the camera in their direction.
Finding so many different critters interested in the chive blossoms made me curious as to their nectar. Is that stuff sweeter than say the roses that were blooming just a few feet away? Does it taste better than the morning glories that fill the fence a directly behind the chive garden? Are moonflowers, lilies and crepe myrtle blooms just not good enough for the bugs? To me, the blossoms always tasted garlicky...these are garlic chives, after all. So what is the big attraction here? If only critters could talk!
Eons ago, my oldest son had a little book that he absolutely loved! I did, too, as it was an easy teaching tool. He started "reading" the book at the early age of three! Or so I thought. Since I read the book to him daily, he had picked up on the core words and then memorized the whole book. "Sun Up" is an excellent teaching tool for those who wish to help their little ones learn to read but, as a word of experience, be careful that they are actually reading! My little fellow proudly told me that he could read the book and I was astounded to hear him go through each page without stumbling over a single word! Amazing! Three years old and he was reading! Nope, he was reciting from memory. Which, in its own right, is astounding. A three year old with the gumption to memorize a story is something else again. I was just as proud of him for that feat!
The book came to mind this morning as the old dog, Mr. PJ, and I were headed to the pier. Just in the edge of the marsh were few daisies blooming. The sight of the bright yellow blossoms brought a smile to my face but photographing them proved difficult. The daisies were all facing the east and the only access I had to them was from the north or west. It took a bit of climbing in the marsh to get my picture! But then a thought....did you know that most flowers face the sun? When the sun is rising, the flowers face the east but as the day progresses the blooms follow the sunshine until at sunset, they face the west. Perhaps you have noticed but do you know why? In a sense, the plants are smart. Flowers are the part that produce seeds to make new plants. Without pollination, the seeds would be no good so the blooms depend on bees and other insects to pollinate them. Insects do not have a method of keeping warm so they seek out warmth where they find it. If a flower is facing the sun, its face will be nice and warm. Not only will the bees flock toward the warmth, the sunshine also heightens the scent of the bloom which calls more insects! Pretty clever, Little Daisy, pretty clever, indeed! (If you look closely at the bottom photo, you will see that one little honeybee was already hard at work!)
I see a lot of strange things while on the pier. Most have to do with the Bayou, water and the critters that dwell therein but sometimes things stick out like a sore thumb. Yesterday, Mark and I meandered down the path and onto the pier like any other day. Once there, we usually plop ourselves down on the bench and sit a spell just watching the water or sunrise/sunset (whichever the case may be). This time we decided to hold off a bit and observe some strange action taking place on the bench. A few days ago, I had placed an empty crab shell on the bench. This was from a crab molting and leaving behind the empty shell. I had good intentions of mounting it once it dried but it needed a few more days in the bright sunshine to make it odor free. The crab shell was not what caught our attention, though. It was a honeybee.
On the crab shell, a small honeybee was quite busy. It was working hard on parts of the shell and the cartilage between the joints of the legs and claws. This seemed to be a strange action for a honeybee. I knew that the yellowjackets and wasps were always trying to scavenge foodstuffs but honeybees? This seemed out of character for these bees.
Once inside, I decided to research a bit about honeybees and their need for salt. Perhaps this would explain the actions of the bee. I really did not think the bee was trying to eat crab! Sure enough, certain bees of the hive search out salt supplies and bring some back to the hive. The salt is needed for the bees own metabolic processes and also for the development of the larvae. Although some beekeepers put out salt for the use of their bees, it seems that sea salt is preferred by the bees. That crab seemed to be there for a reason (other than my future craft project!).
One point of interest..honeybees taste with their feet! I actually did not know this but it seems that when we see honeybees crawling around on something, they are actually tasting it. They have a sense of taste for saltiness and sweetness but don't seem to be able to taste bitterness.
So, now we know! The mystery of the crab shell and honeybee has been solved!
