A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Apis mellifera
The western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a species of honey bee. The genus Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera comes from Latin melli- "honey" and ferre "to bear"—hence the scientific name means "honey-bearing bee". The name was coined in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus who, upon realizing the bees do not bear honey, but nectar, tried later to correct it to Apis mellifica ("honey-making bee") in a subsequent publication. However, according to the rules of synonymy in zoological nomenclature, the older name has precedence.
Apparently, my unidentified Bumble Bees, (which I did submit to BugGuide.Net), have been cutting open the Esperanza blooms close to the stem for nectar. All of the other pollinators figured this out today. So they are all getting nectar from the cuts as well. It was a busy day for the Esperanza bushes and the pollinators. I just hope that it isn't ruining it for the hummingbirds.
Thank you and don't worry about it. LOL I'm so scattered trying to scoot through all of these additions today that I didn't really notice it.
Sorry about the multiple ids! I put the wrong one in originally! ^.^ Nice picture btw. :)
Spotted on Aug 9, 2012
Submitted on Aug 10, 2012
