We have spent the last couple of weeks studying Iris – and in particular – Pollination. We’ve been looking at pollination quite a bit this spring with our Forget Me Nots and Butter Cups. The challenge this week was to watch how the bee enters the flower. Does he have to enter through a three walled doorway to get to the pollen? Does he fly in and out of a flower? Observing.

We headed down to the Lake’s Edge to observe some Rhododendrons, Iris and Spring Flowering Bushes – with our eyes, and in detail with our field microscope – the Discovery Scope.

The Iris are FULL of pollen. We read that their furry/hairy entrance may make it so that the ant can not enter, however, in the water Iris that we found, there were at least 4-5 ants per bloom. Interesting . . . .

This is the first year we have had more than a couple of buds on this bush. This year it practically glows from the lake like a purple beacon. Amazing!

We are seeing a pattern with the hairs/fur in the center parts of the flower. It isn’t seen by the naked eye in most flowers, but with the Discovery Scope, it pops right up. We can see how the flower is created to pull off the pollen from the bee’s back as it hovers in and out of the flower.

Speaking of which, we went up out little hill to these pink bushes, I still do not know what their name is, to watch several large fluffy bees, weighted down by pollen, continue to dive in and out of the flutes.

I so wanted a crisp photo of these guys, but they undulate so quickly, zipping in and out, up and down, this was the best I could do. Nice Spring Coat. Very fashionable.

On this sunny bright spring day – this is seriously how intense the color is.  The pink is a bit deeper, less white, more soft pink – but in the sun, the reflection, yadda yadda, it shouldn’t take too  much imagination to smell and see these beautiful blooms.