Caught in the Act: Pollinators in Action

Bees and butterflies are easy to overlook until you slow down and watch them at work. This post captures pollinators in action, visiting flowers, collecting pollen, and doing what they do best. You’ll be amazed at what’s happening right in front of you.

This little collection shows some of the best moments we’ve caught so far. My ever-so-talented nature photographer friend and neighbor Laurie Dirkx captured some great ones!

First up, you have a bumblebee and an Eastern Comma butterfly both grabbing a snack on the same purple coneflower. The bumblebee doesn’t even notice the butterfly, which is probably just fine with the butterfly. There is plenty to go around, but it is funny to watch two completely different critters jam into the same space like it’s the last buffet on Earth.

Next, there’s a carpenter bee almost disappearing inside a hibiscus flower. It is absolutely covered in pollen. You have to laugh because carpenter bees are not exactly delicate. They muscle their way in, roll around, and leave looking like they rolled in powdered sugar.

Then she spotted a green sweat bee working a coneflower. These little guys don’t get enough credit. They’re one of the hardest-working native pollinators, and they are out there hustling every day. And let’s be honest, that metallic green color looks pretty good when the sun hits it.

One of the honeybees caught her eye, too. She was already loaded up with pollen, but she was still methodically picking through the cone. Watching them work that hard on a single flower reminds you just how much energy goes into making honey and keeping a hive fed.

There’s another shot of a green sweat bee, so buried in pollen it’s almost hard to see the green anymore. It’s one thing to read about how bees carry pollen. It’s another to see them wearing it, literally.

Last up, she caught a honeybee and a bumblebee on the same bloom. The bumblebee looks like it rolled itself in pollen. The honeybee, being smaller and tidier, just works her way around it like she’s seen this all before.

If you needed a reason to plant more flowers, this is it. One good patch of blooms keeps a whole neighborhood of pollinators fed. And if you pay attention, you might get lucky and catch scenes like these happening right outside your door.

Want to see pollinators in action in your yard? Check out our list of easy bee-friendly plants. You can find more bee fun facts in our article Bee Fun Facts You Won’t Forget.

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