Gaillardia World: Bees! The Most Important Pollinators

Bees are the world's most important pollinators, as unlike butterflies, they deliberately collect pollen to feed the next generation, and so reliably move pollen from plant to plant. Gaillardia pulchella is an annual, dependent on seed production and therefore pollination for self-perpetuation. Appropriately, Gaillardia produces prodigious amounts of pollen and nectar and therefore attracts many bees!

By attracting pollinators, the Gaillardia in our front yard and by our barn allowed me to identify multiple species of bee.

There were Bumble Bees (Family Apidae, Bombus spp.):

The American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus), June 18, 2022. Note the hefty bands of yellow hair on the abdomen. Note also the "pollen baskets" on the hind legs that are full of orange pollen. These are female "workers" charged with gathering pollen to feed to the larvae back in the nest:

Here is the American Bumble Bee in action (June 18, 2022):

American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus), June 18, 2022.

Common Eastern Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens), October 6-15, 2022. Note the greater furriness on the thorax, and the yellow band limited to just the first abdominal segment. Note also that the black spot in the center of the thorax is not completely black but sports yellow hairs.

Note also that these large bees have no pollen on their hind legs. There are no larvae needing to be fed back in the nest; that nest is done for the year. The workers and males have passed away. The bees shown here are likely the bred "queens," the only ones from this summer's colony still alive. They are feeding themselves now. They must bulk up to live through hibernation, to emerge next spring to find an appropriate burrow in which to lay their eggs--the start of next year's colony.

Here are Common Eastern Bumble Bees in action, October 6-15, 2022:

Southern Plains Bumble Bees (Bombus fraternus), October 15, 2022. These large bumble bees are on the International Union of Conservation of Nature's "Red List" (threatened with extinction). That's one reason we are so glad to see them drinking nectar from the Gaillardia. The tallgrass prairie here in the Flint Hills is one place where B. fraternus thrives. Here are some photos of this welcome bee:

And here is B. fraternus in action:

Southern Plains Bumble Bee, November 15, 2022

There were Leafcutter and Resin Bees (Megachile spp., Family Megachilidae):

At the beginning of July, Leafcutter Bees (Megachile spp.) were the most common bees on Gaillardia pulchella. The females collected pollen on their furry bellies, instead of on their hind legs, and the males of some species got all gussied up with large white mitts on their front legs. The "mitts" are not pollen-baskets but brushes deployed in mating.

There were species of Sweat Bee (Family Halictidae):

 

Metallic Sweat Bees (Lasioglossum, Subgenus Dialictus). These are tiny bees with muted colors, so they are often overlooked, and even when they are seen, they are hard to see clearly.

Lasioglossum, Subgenus Dialictus

Metallic Sweat Bee, October 4, 2022

Striped Sweat Bee (Agapostemon). These Sweat Bees are larger and easier to see:

Agapostemon, July 13, 2022.

Agapostemon in action:

This shiny individual came to sip and sup on the Gaillardia pulchella volunteering by our barn. (S)he is a Striped Sweat Bee, a member of the genus Agapostemon. The name means Lover-of-Stamens, and clearly (s)he is finding lots to love on this composite! McDowell Creek, Geary County, KS.,

July 13, 2022.

There were Eastern Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa virginica). These bees look like bumble bees but are in a different tribe as well as genus.

Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica), October 16, 2022