November 13, 2013 - Polly-Nate
 

http://cellar.org/2013/Halictus-liga...-Inventory.jpg


I'm not into bugs, but this image fascinated me by seeing how the pollen is all over the body. I thought the pollen was gathered in a limited area.

From the online Smithsonian blog

Sam Droege is the photographer for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Washington, DC, lab. To see more of his work, go to his USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab’s Flickr stream.

Also, watch the biologist give a live demo of his photographic technique at the USGS YouTube site.

Maybe it's the difference between pollen and nectar.
This pic shows flower pollen all over the insect.

But I think the flower's nectar is carried in the bee's stomach
back to the hive and made into honey.

Some bees will collect pollen deliberately on their legs, I believe, but it's in the plant's interest to get pollen on the bee in places that will rub off in other flowers.

Bee Pollen bukake.

Having never seen a honey bee so full of pollen as this one is, I'd suspect the bee was pushed, perhaps by the air pressure generated by the collector unintentionally, into depths of the flower. Depths that she would not have ventured into, on her own.

I'm thinking this bee was collected at the flower, rather than at the hive, or in transit.

Dandelion.

Bet she wet the bed that night.