Green Bee Yellow Flowers

by Paul Rebmann

Title

Green Bee Yellow Flowers

Artist

Paul Rebmann

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

A green metalic bee flying towards three Coreopsis leavenworthii wildflowers in front of a soft field of green and yellow colors from more flowers along a Florida roadside. Coreopsis is the official Florida state wildflower.

This image has been featured in the following groups:
American Wildflowers,
Fine Art Wildflower Photography
& Wild Flowers

Leavenworth's tickseed is a common wildflower of wet flatwoods, ditches and disturbed sites throughout nearly all of Florida. Also occurs in two south Alabama counties.
This wildflower is a perennial growing up to 1.5m (5ft.) tall with slender glabrous stems that branch in the upper part of the plant. Coreopsis leavenworthii flowers are terminal on the branches and have yellow ray florets and dark disks. Flowers can appear throughout the year. Leaves are opposite, narrow and may be lobed or unlobed. Fruit is an achene with conspicuous awns.
This species is named for Melines Conkling Leavenworth (1796-1862) an army surgeon stationed at Fort King near Tampa during the Second Seminole Indian War. He was also a botanist who collected in the southeastern United States.
The green metallic bee is Agapostemon splendens, a small bee that can be seen in much of the eastern US from April through October, possibly year-round in Florida.
All of the species of Agapostemon are at least partially metallic green. The A. splendens female has a metallic blue-green abdomen with dark bands and the male has a yellow and black banded abdomen. The 2 pairs of wings are dark, not clear.
Green metallic bees are members of the Halictidae family commonly called sweat bees for the behavior of some of the species of being attracted to perspiration. Many bees in this family nest in the ground.
(Subject description from the artist's Wild Florida Photo website www.wildflphoto.com)

Uploaded

May 27th, 2014

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