Kenya Natural History Guide >>> Insects >>> Wasps, Bees and Ants - Hymenoptera >>> Bee
Stingless Bee |
Meliponula bocandei |
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![]() Observed at Kakamega Forest, Kenya, November 2010. The bee is almost 1 cm long. It is on a flowering head of Mexican Sunflower (Tithoniaa diversifolia). The smooth yellow hemispheres in the top left corner of the photo are unopened florets, in the bottom half are opened florets with their stigmas exserted. The bee is following the boundary between the two groups of florets that are just opening and have pollen-bearing stamens exserted. Identification provided by Dino Martins. |
Tithonia is a non-native sunflower originally from the the Neotropics.
As this bee scrapes its body over the surface of the flower, pollen grains adhere to the specialized setae (hairs). When the bee returns to its nest the pollen is then scraped off and formed into food packets for the developing bee grubs. Apidae -- Bee FamilyMore Information: |
Copyright Michael J. Plagens, page created 31 December 2012.