bumble bee probing
the path to the inner sanctum,
legs coated with gold dust
Like an airplane, the bumble bee is guided to its destination by the bright stripes on one of the three wide, striped sepals or "falls" of the Siberian Iris. Above the sepal is an arched canopy which forms a tube into which the bee must crawl to reach the nectar. In the process of probing, the bee comes in contact with the stigmatic stamens and picks up pollen. Now this part of the flower's pollination arrangement is quite brilliant. When the bee backs out, it touches only the non-receptive lower face of the stigma. So the pollen from this flower is not rubbed off on the same flower but will be delivered to a second flower. Clever flower!
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