NT: Barbie, bumblebees, and thistles >>>Archived Message
Posted by Bridget on September 13, 2020, 2:40 am
My mom and I were so pleased this year when we spotted a thistle growing in our yard. We mowed around it for months and waited and waited for it to bloom. It did not disappoint! So many flowers! More bumblebees than I've ever seen in my life. I visit it everday and talk to the bees. I feel like they're my pets now. Turns out thistles are one of the top nectar providers so pollinators like bees and butterflies LOVE them. The thistledown is so soft and I hope to plant the seeds so I have more next year.
The common thistle, aka the Scottish thistle (the national flower of Scotland); I have some Scottish blood so I loved having this in my yard:
Sunny
One bumblebee
Two bumblebees
Bumblebee covered in pollen, it looks like it's been coated in powdered sugar
And then this GIANT bumblebee came by... here's a shot with a regular sized one to show the comparison. He's so furry. When he flew around me taking pictures, I called him a "helicopter", lol. I learned that in South America they have bumblebees the size of mice?!
