Pink Turtlehead is an herbaceous, native perennial, and we have a bumper crop in our pollinator garden this summer. It is a valuable, late-summer and early-fall food source for Bumble Bees, which are (near as I can tell) the only species strong enough to pry open the tight, snapdragon-like blossoms. I was lucky enough to enjoy a very intimate interlude with a Bumble Bee and observe her entering and exiting her chosen floret. My plump wee bee dove, head-first into the flower, squeezed and wiggled her way deep inside for the sweetest nectar, and then, doing a 180° turn, wriggled and contorted her way back out into the sunshine again. So lovely!
The Bee And Her Blossom
A flash of gold, a fuzzy weight,
She knocks upon the rosy gate.
The pink hood dips, the petals part,
To serve her dinner à la carte.
A gentle wiggle, squeeze, and spin—
She wore that flower like a skin!
Then out she pops, a happy sprite,
And launches back into the light.
My lovely, acrobatic bee in action:
Pink Turtlehead (Chelone lyonii) & Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)
’Til next time, y’all…
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