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Published by www.EPlusPromotes.com www.TheCatoctinBanner.com The Catoctin Banner Newspaper April 2016 Page 37
Christine Schoene Maccabee
lot of heat, which it needs to keep its finely tuned for detecting the oily
body temperature at least 30 degrees traces and can readily “smell” just
Centigrade; but, of course, this
a few molecules in the air around a
On The Wild Side comes at a cost: bumblebee flight is flower and on the petals themselves.
enormously expensive in terms of
This amazing built-in mechanism
the energy it uses. A bumblebee with
would be wasted climbing inside
a full stomach is only ever about saves the bee time and energy that
forty minutes from starvation, so empty flowers.
I must confess, now I am worried
The Mysterious Lives of Insects (Part 2) it cannot waste energy sucking at more than ever as to how lawn
dry flowers or it may perish before
the days end. So you thought it was chemicals and herbicides might
Time is Honey. difficult being a human when the interfere with, and even kill, these
car breaks down and you have to
important, sensitive, insects.
— Bernd Heinrich, entomologist and marathon runner put hard earned money and precious There is much about the natural
time and energy into fixing it. I world most of us do not know, and
guess bees and humans are not so what I have written here barely
This winter, I found a large So what does Dr. Goulson mean different after all! scratches the surface.
cocoon (size of a large lemon) when he speaks of smelly feet? But what about those smelly feet? I don’t know about you, but I
attached to a twig down by the As he was observing the behavior As it turns out, after examining will never look at my flowers, and
chicken coop. I feel lucky to have of bees in his extensive meadows the feet of bees, Dr. Goulson the insects that depend on them, the
even seen it, as it was covered with in France, he found that bees are discovered that every bee—in fact, same this spring and summer.
dead leaves and looked like nothing very particular as to which flowers every insect—leaves a trace of oily So, enjoy the emerging beauty
special. However, having seen such they feed on. Not only do different liquid wherever they go. Bees, in your gardens and the world at
cocoons in years past, I recognized it species of bees specialize in specific even butterflies, leave a footprint large. And never loose your curiosity
immediately as that of a magnificent types of flowers to suck, but they wherever they land, which is then or your sense of wonder, for that
large moth. Excitedly, I broke off the seem to know, somehow, whether a detected by the antennae of other is equally a part of our natural
twig and brought it up to the porch, particular flower has recently been pollinators. Antennae of insects are heritage. Even smelly feet!
where I stood it upright in a sturdy fed on by another bee. Perhaps you
container for observation. have observed in your own gardens
With the warmth of early to bees hovering by a perfectly fresh 1 Dave Goulson’s entertaining and informative books, A Sting in the Tale and A
mid-spring, one of three moths will looking flower, but passing it up for Buzz in the Meadow are available at our library.
emerge from this cocoon: it may another. I know I have seen this, and
be a Cecropia or a Polyphemus or often wondered about it. Christine is a Master Naturalist in the State of Maryland and welcomes any
Promethea. I am excited to see what Dave Goulson set about the questions or stories of your own about gardening for food or for wildlife. She
it will be, but until then it remains a “fiddly business” of measuring the can be reached at [email protected]
mystery. quantity of nectar in the rejected
I have found in all my years of flowers, and found that they had
observation and discovery that less nectar in them than the chosen
most things we take for granted in flowers. Somehow, bees knew which
nature happen in secret. Not unlike flowers had the most rewards, but
most creatures, including the human how were they doing it? Much like
creature, insects have very private we humans, bees are very busy and
personal lives. Not only that, they have no time to waste sucking dry
are all specialized with particular flowers. Of course, the flowers they
talents, and most of them make reject eventually create more nectar,
significant contributions to the so perhaps that same bee will come
quality of life as we know it on this back to suck later.
amazingly mysterious Earth. Now we have two mysteries to
In my column last month, I left solve. First, why are bees in such
the reader hanging when I said that a hurry with no time to waste (in
bees have “stinky feet.” With my other words, busy)? And what are
apologies to Dr. Dave Goulson , who those smelly feet all about anyway?
1
discovered this peculiar trait in bees, First of all, in flight, a bumblebee
I will proceed to explain why bees flaps its wings two hundred times
have “smelly,” not stinky, feet. Smelly per second, according to bee experts
is not always stinky. Sorry, Dave. like Dr. Goulson. This generates a
Christine Schoene Maccabee
lot of heat, which it needs to keep its finely tuned for detecting the oily
body temperature at least 30 degrees traces and can readily “smell” just
Centigrade; but, of course, this
a few molecules in the air around a
On The Wild Side comes at a cost: bumblebee flight is flower and on the petals themselves.
enormously expensive in terms of
This amazing built-in mechanism
the energy it uses. A bumblebee with
would be wasted climbing inside
a full stomach is only ever about saves the bee time and energy that
forty minutes from starvation, so empty flowers.
I must confess, now I am worried
The Mysterious Lives of Insects (Part 2) it cannot waste energy sucking at more than ever as to how lawn
dry flowers or it may perish before
the days end. So you thought it was chemicals and herbicides might
Time is Honey. difficult being a human when the interfere with, and even kill, these
car breaks down and you have to
important, sensitive, insects.
— Bernd Heinrich, entomologist and marathon runner put hard earned money and precious There is much about the natural
time and energy into fixing it. I world most of us do not know, and
guess bees and humans are not so what I have written here barely
This winter, I found a large So what does Dr. Goulson mean different after all! scratches the surface.
cocoon (size of a large lemon) when he speaks of smelly feet? But what about those smelly feet? I don’t know about you, but I
attached to a twig down by the As he was observing the behavior As it turns out, after examining will never look at my flowers, and
chicken coop. I feel lucky to have of bees in his extensive meadows the feet of bees, Dr. Goulson the insects that depend on them, the
even seen it, as it was covered with in France, he found that bees are discovered that every bee—in fact, same this spring and summer.
dead leaves and looked like nothing very particular as to which flowers every insect—leaves a trace of oily So, enjoy the emerging beauty
special. However, having seen such they feed on. Not only do different liquid wherever they go. Bees, in your gardens and the world at
cocoons in years past, I recognized it species of bees specialize in specific even butterflies, leave a footprint large. And never loose your curiosity
immediately as that of a magnificent types of flowers to suck, but they wherever they land, which is then or your sense of wonder, for that
large moth. Excitedly, I broke off the seem to know, somehow, whether a detected by the antennae of other is equally a part of our natural
twig and brought it up to the porch, particular flower has recently been pollinators. Antennae of insects are heritage. Even smelly feet!
where I stood it upright in a sturdy fed on by another bee. Perhaps you
container for observation. have observed in your own gardens
With the warmth of early to bees hovering by a perfectly fresh 1 Dave Goulson’s entertaining and informative books, A Sting in the Tale and A
mid-spring, one of three moths will looking flower, but passing it up for Buzz in the Meadow are available at our library.
emerge from this cocoon: it may another. I know I have seen this, and
be a Cecropia or a Polyphemus or often wondered about it. Christine is a Master Naturalist in the State of Maryland and welcomes any
Promethea. I am excited to see what Dave Goulson set about the questions or stories of your own about gardening for food or for wildlife. She
it will be, but until then it remains a “fiddly business” of measuring the can be reached at [email protected]
mystery. quantity of nectar in the rejected
I have found in all my years of flowers, and found that they had
observation and discovery that less nectar in them than the chosen
most things we take for granted in flowers. Somehow, bees knew which
nature happen in secret. Not unlike flowers had the most rewards, but
most creatures, including the human how were they doing it? Much like
creature, insects have very private we humans, bees are very busy and
personal lives. Not only that, they have no time to waste sucking dry
are all specialized with particular flowers. Of course, the flowers they
talents, and most of them make reject eventually create more nectar,
significant contributions to the so perhaps that same bee will come
quality of life as we know it on this back to suck later.
amazingly mysterious Earth. Now we have two mysteries to
In my column last month, I left solve. First, why are bees in such
the reader hanging when I said that a hurry with no time to waste (in
bees have “stinky feet.” With my other words, busy)? And what are
apologies to Dr. Dave Goulson , who those smelly feet all about anyway?
1
discovered this peculiar trait in bees, First of all, in flight, a bumblebee
I will proceed to explain why bees flaps its wings two hundred times
have “smelly,” not stinky, feet. Smelly per second, according to bee experts
is not always stinky. Sorry, Dave. like Dr. Goulson. This generates a
