[Pollinator] Photos of wildflowers, apiaries, and pollinators

[Travis O]

Hi everyone!
I work for a commercial beekeeper in Southern Oregon (Old Sol Bees). We are fortunate to have some pretty awesome locations for our apiaries, many of which are host to a number of native pollinators and wildflowers. Others are more weedy or are close to gardens. Whatever the case may be, there is always opportunity to observe pollinators on various plants, and to observe the preferences of various pollinators (not all bees have the same tastes!) With nonnative species, and I'm referring to honeybees, weeds, and most garden plants, an interesting opportunity to test the theory of pollination syndromes is presented. I find it exciting when the theory holds true, and the particular pollinator forages on the particular flower shape as foretold, yet equally interesting when there is a divergence of floral preferences (such as a hummingbird nectaring on borage, I've seen it!)
Here is a link to collection of photos of wildflowers, weeds, and garden plants with various native and nonnative pollinators in and around the apiaries I work in, all in the Rogue Valley in Southwestern Oregon:
http://www.amateuranthecologist.com/2016/06/apiaries-3.html
I hope everyone has a nice weekend and, for the dads (and perhaps single moms), have a great Father's Day!
-Travis OwenRogue River, OR
www.amateuranthecologist.com 		 	   		  
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