It's All About the Pants! :D

Can you say, "Fat Pants"? Because that's what we have goin' on here! This bee has been crawling all over flowers and collecting pollen as it goes, and instead of going back to the hive to empy his load, it's been caught by Janet's Fat Pants Cam! :D

Ok, ok, silliness aside, what you're seeing on this bee is called "Pollen Baskets". As a bee becomes covered with pollen, it brushes it off with moistened forelegs, transferring it to the hind legs. There it is pressed and compacted into the baskets. It takes about 15-18 minutes for the average bee to fill its baskets before it returns to the hive to unload its precious cargo and go out for more. This pollen is then mixed with nectar and/or honey, and this is called bee pollen or bee bread. This "bread" is a bee colony's main source of protein. Isn't that interesting?!

If you would like to know more about pollen baskets and bee bread, Wiki has a nice page here:
Wiki: Pollen basket and here: Wiki: Bee bread

By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too!

Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)