Blue Day for the Bees

Oct 13, 2009

It's a blue day for the honey bees.

The massive Northern California storm--one of our worst-ever storms and marked by heavy rains and equally strong winds--means that bees are clustering inside their hives.

No foraging today.

Just last Sunday we saw honey bees nectaring blue marguerite daisy (Felicia amelloides), a colorful member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). A native of South Africa, the marguerite daisy blooms through October.

This bee was quite old (notice the lack of hair on her thorax).

Today she's inside.

Out of the rain.


By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Author - Communications specialist

Attached Images:

HONEY BEE nectars a blue marguerite daisy, a member of the sunflower family. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blue Marguerite Daisy

TONGUE EXTENDED, a honey bee sips nectar from a blue marguerite daisy. Notice the yellow pollen on her leg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tongue Extended