Bumblebee

Today's the day ................. to collect pollen

A bee collects pollen in - believe it or not - a pollen basket. It is to be found on the hind legs and is a sort of cavity surrounded by a fringe of hairs, into which the pollen is placed. This bee was in the middle of a clump of geraniums and you can see the yellow pollen that it has collected quite clearly.

Apparently individual bees vary in their efficiency in packing pollen into the pollen basket, some more efficient, others less: it takes an individual worker bee from three to eighteen minutes to complete a pollen load and return to the hive ..........