For my timelapse observation of today’s sunflower, instead of the backyard, I chose one of the recently opened ones at the front of the house, a tall and healthy and large specimen not in Coyote Corner proper, but just outside the boundary to the right of what you can see on the Sunflower Webcam I have pointed at that section.
So I set up the cam and began recording a few minutes after 10 a.m., only to be somewhat amazed upon reviewing the two-hours of timelapsed footage (one frame taken every second) that not a single bee landed on it during that time. In fact, it only drew the attention of one bee, who buzzed in front of it, as seen below, before flying off (click it for the bigger picture). And the flower in the background had only two bees physically land on it.
I’d hazard these flowers are still young enough in their bloom stage not to yet have what the bees are looking for, but still when I’m used to observing at least five bees on a flower in a 30-minute period it’s surprising that these two proud representative would draw so little in the way of bee interest over four times as long a span.
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