The Cactus bees finally showed up around 10:00 this morning, and I enjoyed watching them go straight to work. I was very curious to see if the little bee that curled up inside of the flower yesterday was still there, but that flower closed into a tight little bud, and I don't think I can get a view inside of it without destroying it and/or hurting the bee. Maybe it will open a little later today.
Waiting around the cactus for the bees to show up gave me an opportunity to observe the other wildlife that the cholla supports. I have come to think of the cholla as a dessert version of a coral reef! Every time I move, there are little rustling sounds as lizards run for cover under the cholla's spiky branches. There are several different spiders who have virtually covered the whole plant with webs. The cactus bees are incredibly adept at avoiding the webs. Yesterday Tim noticed a beautiful, brown dragonfly hanging out near by, and most of the cholla's magenta flowers have at least two resident ants who like to harass the bees when they visit. I mentioned yesterday that there were two types of bees that visit the cactus. Today I began to wonder if they were different subspecies of cactus bees.
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| One cactus bee |
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| A second type of cactus bee? Notice it's furrier than the first one and brown. | | |
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| Another view of the second cactus bee |
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| A spider hoping for a meal |
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| An unfortunate snail. A cactus really seems like the wrong neighborhood for such a soft creature. |
I have SO many questions...where do the bees live? What do they eat when the cholla isn't in bloom? How many chollas can there possibly be in Livermore? How far do the bees fly to find them? How closely are cactus bees related to honey bees? Do cactus bees visit other types of flowers? Do my honeybees visit the cholla cactus? (I haven't seen any honeybees there). Are the two cactus bee 'subspecies' really different bees? Or is one male and the other female? Lots to discover!
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