Floral Visitors
Garak (Sun, 02 Aug 2015 02:05:16 PDT)

Hi Travis.

wonderful pictures and very precise observations here, a pleasure to
read. I'm always a bit jealous on your hummingbirds, since there are
none in Europe - closest thing is the Hummingbird Hawkmoth, cute little
fellows, which increased in numbers around here in the last 30 years
when the climate got notably warmer.

Unfortunately, I have more of a problem with my floral visitors here in
southern Germany: the bumblebees somehow have learned that the easy way
to feed on Mirabilis Jalapa is to bite through the side of the tube and
directly drink from this short cut - which then again lets the flower
wither and most of the time destroys the style, strongly reducing my
seed harvest. I've grown Mirabilis J. for at least 20 years, and I've
never seen such behavior. To make it worse, they now expand this
knowledge to other plants: I've found side-entries to Digitalis Lutea
and Antirrhinum Siculum, looks like any funnel-shaped flower too tight
for bumblebees is under attack. This summer was extremely hot and dry,
so I hope they're just desperate and return to normal in following
years. this, or I'll have to work without my beloved mirabilis.

Greetings
Martin

Am 01.08.2015 um 19:23 schrieb Travis O: