Yesterday I noticed a honeybee foraging in one of Catherine's poppies, so I moved in for a photo. She was so loaded with the black pollen she could barely fly. She landed on a lemon balm leaf to groom--it seemed as though she had pollen grains in her eyes and couldn't see very well. Interesting that you can see tiny hairs on this leaf--I've noticed bees like to land on hairy leaves. Look at how much pollen is on her head and thorax! It looks blue-grey in the sunlight, but in the shade it is dark sooty black.
Here is a good shot of her grooming and look at that pollen load! I have never seen such a large pollen load on a honeybee. Amazing!
Now this is a plant that put in last year and it didn't bloom until now. IIRC it is dyer's alkanet. I'm interested to see if the bees like it.
The sweet cicely looks ethereal when it is backlit.
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